I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years remaining on my flat in Old Colwyn. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Old Colwyn.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in Old Colwyn.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is clear the invoice 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.

I own a leasehold house in Old Colwyn. Conveyancing and Barclays Direct mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Old Colwyn who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Old Colwyn conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Old Colwyn where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Old Colwyn conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as 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. This means that the buyer can avoid having 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 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 purchaser.

What are the common defects that you encounter in leases for Old Colwyn properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Old Colwyn is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently 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:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• 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 will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , Skipton Building Society, and Clydesdale all have very detailed 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.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Old Colwyn - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

Where a Old Colwyn lease has less than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the value of the apartment. It is worth checking with your lender that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely need a lease extension at some point and it is worth discovering what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will be required to have been the owner of the residence for two years before you are legally able to exercise a lease extension. It is important to be aware whether fixing the lift or some other significant cost is anticipated that will be shared by the tenants and may well dramatically impact the level of the maintenance fees or require a specific invoice. What restrictions exist in the Old Colwyn Lease?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Old Colwyn