Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Pentwyn. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Pentwyn - 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.

I am intending to sublet my leasehold apartment in Pentwyn. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your last Pentwyn conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain permission via your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without prior permission. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in Pentwyn.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge 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 unless 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Pentwyn with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Pentwyn can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Pentwyn charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Pentwyn.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Pentwyn leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance.

If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

We expect to complete our sale of a £250000 apartment in Pentwyn next week. The management company has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Pentwyn?

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

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Pentwyn
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Pentwyn leasehold property is £350. For Pentwyn 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 answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Pentwyn - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

What prohibitions exist in the Pentwyn Lease? Please note if it is less than 80 years it will affect the value of the property. Check with your lender that they are content with residual term of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. For most Pentwynlease extensions you would need to own the property for 24 months in order to be entitled to exercise a lease extension. Plenty Pentwyn leasehold apartments will have a service bill for maintenance of the building set on behalf of the freeholder. If you buy the apartment you will have to pay this liability, normally in instalments during the year. This could be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, ordinarily this is not a significant sum, say about £25-£75 but you should to check as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Pentwyn