Due to exchange soon on a basement flat in Llanrwst. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Llanrwst should include some of the following:

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark

I own a leasehold house in Llanrwst. Conveyancing and Barclays Direct mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Llanrwst who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Llanrwst conveyancing solicitor 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 freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Llanrwst. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Llanrwst where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Llanrwst conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 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 simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Llanrwst what are the most common lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Llanrwst. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, The Mortgage Works, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Llanrwst, conveyancing was carried out 2008. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Equivalent properties in Llanrwst with an extended lease are worth £211,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease ends on 21st October 2090

With just 69 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £12,400 and £14,200 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Llanrwst