I have recently realised that I have 68 years left on my flat in Rhuddlan. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Rhuddlan.

I have just appointed agents to market my basement apartment in Rhuddlan.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you pay the invoice 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Rhuddlan. Conveyancing and Chelsea Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Rhuddlan who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Rhuddlan conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a couple of flats in Rhuddlan both have approximately fifty years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Rhuddlan is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the premises. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. 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 a residence 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 Rhuddlan 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 You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed 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've recently bought a leasehold flat in Rhuddlan. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before 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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

Leasehold Conveyancing in Rhuddlan - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

How many years remain on the lease? Most Rhuddlan leasehold apartments will incur a service bill for maintenance of the building levied by the landlord. Where you purchase the property you will have to pay this contribution, usually in instalments during the year. This may be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a ground rent to be met annual, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant sum, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to check as sometimes it can be surprisingly expensive. The prefered form of lease structure is if the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this scenario the lessees enjoy control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually employed if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.

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Lease Extensions in Rhuddlan