I have recently realised that I have Fifty years unexpired on my flat in Pwllheli. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. For most situations a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Pwllheli.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Pwllheli. Conveyancing and Barclays Direct mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Pwllheli who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Pwllheli conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, 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 two apartments in Pwllheli both have approximately forty five years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Pwllheli. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. However, 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).

What makes a Pwllheli lease problematic?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Pwllheli. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, Barnsley Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Pwllheli Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

The answer will be helpful as a) areas could cause problems in the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate if repairs are not paid for b) if the tenants have a dispute with the managing agents you will want to have complete disclosure Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments? Many Pwllheli leasehold apartments will incur a service charge for maintenance of the block levied by the freeholder. Should you purchase the property you will have to pay this contribution, usually quarterly accross the year. This may vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a large sum, say around £50-£100 but you should to enquire as sometimes it could be surprisingly expensive.

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Lease Extensions in Pwllheli