My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Mynydd Isa. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Mynydd Isa who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Mynydd Isa conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a couple of flats in Mynydd Isa which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Mynydd Isa. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the value of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Mynydd Isa where we see a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Mynydd Isa conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Mynydd Isa conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Mynydd Isa conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Mynydd Isa 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 useful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

What makes a Mynydd Isa lease problematic?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Mynydd Isa. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, Virgin Money, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Mynydd Isa Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

Many Mynydd Isa leasehold flats will have a service bill for maintenance of the building invoiced by the freeholder. Should you buy the apartment you will have to meet this contribution, normally in instalments throughout the year. This could differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent to be met yearly, normally this is not a exorbitant sum, say approximately £50-£100 but you need to enquire as sometimes it could be prohibitively expensive. It is important to be aware whether window replacement or some other significant cost is due in the near future that will be shared amongst the leaseholders and may well dramatically increase the the service fees or result in a specific invoice.