There are only Seventy years left on my lease in Nefyn. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Nefyn.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Nefyn. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Nefyn should include some of the following:

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

The physical extent of the premises. This will be the apartment itself but may incorporate a roof space or basement if appropriate.

Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change

An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Nefyn please enquire of your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Nefyn

I work for a busy estate agency in Nefyn where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Nefyn conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller 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 needs to be completed prior to, 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Nefyn from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Nefyn can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Nefyn levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Nefyn.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Nefyn leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you fail to have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.

If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise 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 identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £300000 garden flat in Nefyn in nine days. The freeholder has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Nefyn?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Nefyn conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Nefyn
• 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 Nefyn leasehold property is £350. For Nefyn 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 obliged to supply answers.

Nefyn Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

It is important to be aware whether window replacement or some other major work is due shortly that will be shared amongst the leasehold owners and will dramatically increase the the maintenance charges or necessitate a one time invoice. On the whole the outlay for major works are not incorporated into the service charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Nefyn ask leasehold owners to contribute towards a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance. The majority of Nefyn leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the building invoiced by the management company. Should you acquire the apartment you will have to pay this liability, normally quarterly accross the year. This may vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay annual, this is usually not a large sum, say about £50-£100 but you need to enquire it because on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Nefyn