Due to exchange soon on a garden flat in Roath. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Roath.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is clear 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 managing agents 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 own a leasehold house in Roath. Conveyancing and Godiva Mortgages Ltd mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Roath who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of 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 Roath conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Roath. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. It is an essential part 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).

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £450000 apartment in Roath on Tuesday in a week. The management company has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Roath?

Roath conveyancing on leasehold flats normally necessitates the buyer’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They may invoice a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I own a 1st floor flat in Roath, conveyancing was carried out 2002. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent properties in Roath with an extended lease are worth £209,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2076

With just 51 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £35,200 and £40,600 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Roath