My fiance and I may need to let out our Pantymwyn ground floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Pantymwyn conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your last Pantymwyn conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain consent via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I have just started marketing my basement flat in Pantymwyn.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you clear the service charge 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 managing agents 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Pantymwyn. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. 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 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Pantymwyn who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Pantymwyn conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Pantymwyn both have approximately fifty years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Pantymwyn is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the premises. For most purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Pantymwyn conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Completion in due on our sale of a £ 125000 flat in Pantymwyn in just under a week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Pantymwyn?

Pantymwyn conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally necessitates administration charges levied by managing agents :

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Pantymwyn
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Pantymwyn leasehold property is £350. For Pantymwyn 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 provide the information.

Pantymwyn Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Are there any major works anticipated that will likely increase the maintenance charges? The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this situation the leaseholders enjoy control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually employed where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. Where a Pantymwyn lease has no more than 80 years it will impact the salability of the apartment. Check with your bank that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely need a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. For most Pantymwynlease extensions you would be required to have been the owner of the premises for 24 months in order to be eligible to extend the lease.