Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Rudry:

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While any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Rudry, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Top Five Questions relating to Rudry leasehold conveyancing

I would like to let out my leasehold apartment in Rudry. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Some leases for properties in Rudry do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Rudry both have in the region of fifty years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Rudry is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the property. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises 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 Rudry conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new 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 am employed by a busy estate agency in Rudry where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Rudry conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Rudry from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Rudry can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
  • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Rudry levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Rudry.
  • Some Rudry leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Rudry what are the most frequent lease defects?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Rudry. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
    • Insurance obligations
    • 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

    A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Britannia all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

    I invested in buying a garden flat in Rudry, conveyancing having been completed 10 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent properties in Rudry with over 90 years remaining are worth £170,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2097

    With only 72 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as professional fees.

    The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Rudry