Leasehold Conveyancing in Llangollen - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

Get a Quote

Leasehold conveyancing in Llangollen is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Llangollen and throughout next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Sample questions relating to Llangollen leasehold conveyancing

I only have Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Llangollen. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Llangollen.

I have just appointed agents to market my garden apartment in Llangollen.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay 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 until 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Llangollen. Conveyancing and Platform Home Loans Ltd mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Llangollen who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Llangollen conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Llangollen where we see a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Llangollen conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is 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 before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Llangollen with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Llangollen can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
  • A minority of Llangollen leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Llangollen home move. If a duplicate share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Llangollen Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

      Generally speaking the cost for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, although there some managing agents in Llangollen require leaseholders to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of building a fund for larger works. Many Llangollen leasehold properties will have a service charge for the upkeep of the block levied on behalf of the management company. Where you acquire the property you will have to meet this contribution, normally periodically throughout the year. This could be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common grounds. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met annual, normally this is not a exorbitant figure, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to enquire as occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds. Who manages the building?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Llangollen