Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in St Mellons. Before diving in I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in St Mellons - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I am looking at a two apartments in St Mellons which have approximately forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in St Mellons where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local St Mellons conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in St Mellons with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in St Mellons can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? St Mellons leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Should you fail to have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £350000 apartment in St Mellons next week. The freeholder has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in St Mellons?

St Mellons conveyancing on leasehold flats usually necessitates the buyer’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They may charge a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

I acquired a studio flat in St Mellons, conveyancing formalities finalised 9 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable properties in St Mellons with an extended lease are worth £240,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 yearly. The lease expires on 21st October 2081

With just 56 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £30,400 and £35,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in St Mellons