I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Llanfairfechan.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you clear the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold house in Llanfairfechan. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Llanfairfechan who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Llanfairfechan conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Llanfairfechan where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Llanfairfechan conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Llanfairfechan from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Llanfairfechan can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Llanfairfechan levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Llanfairfechan.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £375000 maisonette in Llanfairfechan in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £360 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Llanfairfechan?

Llanfairfechan conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually necessitates the buyer’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

I bought a basement flat in Llanfairfechan, conveyancing was carried out 3 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent properties in Llanfairfechan with a long lease are worth £260,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2076

With only 51 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £34,200 and £39,600 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Llanfairfechan