Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Porthcawl:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Porthcawl, you will need to appoint a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Santander, Yorkshire Building Society or NatWest be sure to find a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Common questions relating to Porthcawl leasehold conveyancing

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

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Porthcawl - 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’m about to sell my garden flat in Porthcawl.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you 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 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Porthcawl. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. It is an essential part 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).

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

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Porthcawl can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
  • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Porthcawl levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out 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 average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Porthcawl.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Porthcawl state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you dont have the consents to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
  • 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 conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • What makes a Porthcawl lease unacceptable for security purposes?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Porthcawl is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
    • 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 may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Chelsea 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 does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

    Porthcawl Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

      Best to be warned if fixing the lift or some other major work is anticipated to be shared between the tenants and may well dramatically impact the level of the maintenance charges or require a one off payment. The majority of Porthcawl leasehold apartments will incur a service bill for maintenance of the building invoiced by the management company. If you acquire the apartment you will have to pay this contribution, usually quarterly throughout the year. This can vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a significant amount, say around £25-£75 but you need to check as sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. Are there any major works in the planning that will likely increase the maintenance charges?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Porthcawl