I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Pencoed. Before I get started I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Pencoed - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Pencoed. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Pencoed where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Pencoed conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 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 simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Pencoed from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Pencoed can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Pencoed levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Pencoed.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Pencoed leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you dont have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.

Some Pencoed leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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 purchasers or their solicitors.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential 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.

We expect to complete the sale of our £125000 maisonette in Pencoed next week. The management company has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Pencoed?

Pencoed conveyancing on leasehold flats usually results in fees being invoiced by managing agents :

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Pencoed
• 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 Pencoed leasehold property is £350. For Pencoed 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 provide the information.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Pencoed - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Where a Pencoed lease has less than 80 years it will affect the marketability of the property. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you will be be obliged to have owned the premises for two years in order to be entitled to extend the lease. Are there any major works in the planning that could add a premium to the service fees? Who is in charge of the building?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Pencoed