I have just appointed agents to market my basement flat in Roath Park.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is clear 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 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 today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Roath Park. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Roath Park are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Roath Park so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Roath Park conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor will advise you fully on all the issues.

I own a leasehold house in Roath Park. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage went though with no issue. 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 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Roath Park who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Roath Park 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 legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Roath Park where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Roath Park conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 simultaneously with 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Roath Park conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Roath Park conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Roath Park conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

Roath Park Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

If a Roath Park lease has fewer than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the property. Check with your mortgage company that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. For most Roath Parklease extensions you would be required to have been the owner of the property for a couple of years before you are eligible to carry out a lease extension. The best form of lease arrangement is if the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this arrangement the tenants benefit from being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is usually employed where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. On the whole the cost for major works are not included within service charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Roath Park ask leaseholders to pay into a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major works.