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Port Talbot leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years unexpired on my lease in Port Talbot. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Port Talbot.

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Port Talbot. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Port Talbot should include some of the following:

  • The total extent of the property. This will be the property itself but could also incorporate a roof space or cellar if applicable.
  • Are pets allowed in the flat?
  • Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the flat, or having a home office for business
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Port Talbot please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Port Talbot

    • I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Port Talbot both have in the region of forty five years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

    There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Port Talbot is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. The majority of buyers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. 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 property 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 premises 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 Port Talbot conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend 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 any new 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.

    I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Port Talbot where we see a few flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Port Talbot conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process 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 can avoid having to sit tight for 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.

    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.

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Port Talbot with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Port Talbot can be reduced if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
    • The majority landlords or managing agents in Port Talbot levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Port Talbot.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Port Talbot state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you dont have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.
  • Some Port Talbot leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.

    • Port Talbot Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying

      Is there a share of the freehold? What is the name of the managing agents? How much is the ground rent and service charge?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Port Talbot