I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to be perfect, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Mid Wales. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Mid Wales are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Mid Wales in which case you should be shopping around for a Mid Wales conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer should report to you on the legal implications.

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Mid Wales where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Mid Wales conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 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 needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Mid Wales conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Mid Wales conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Mid Wales conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

Can they put you in touch with client in Mid Wales who can give a testimonial?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Mid Wales from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Mid Wales can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Mid Wales state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Where you dont have the approvals to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.

Some Mid Wales leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy formality and delays many a Mid Wales conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £350000 flat in Mid Wales in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Mid Wales?

Mid Wales conveyancing on leasehold apartments typically results in administration charges levied by managing agents :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Mid Wales
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Mid Wales leasehold property is £350. For Mid Wales conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply answers.

Mid Wales Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying

How much is the ground rent and service charge? Many Mid Wales leasehold properties will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the building set on behalf of the management company. If you acquire the property you will have to pay this charge, normally periodically accross the year. This could vary from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a large figure, say around £25-£75 but you need to enquire it because occasionally it could be surprisingly expensive. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Mid Wales