There are only 72 years remaining on my flat in Towyn. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Towyn.

I own a leasehold house in Towyn. Conveyancing and Bank of Scotland mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Towyn who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Towyn conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Towyn from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Towyn can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Towyn charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Towyn.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Towyn leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you fail to have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.

A minority of Towyn leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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 purchasers or their solicitors.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Towyn home move. Where a duplicate share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £425000 maisonette in Towyn on Wednesday in a week. The management company has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Towyn?

Towyn conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes ordinarily necessitates administration charges invoiced by management companies :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Towyn
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Towyn leasehold premises is £350. For Towyn conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply answers.

What makes a Towyn lease unacceptable for security purposes?

Leasehold conveyancing in Towyn is not unique. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Lloyds TSB Bank, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Clydesdale 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, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

I inherited a ground floor flat in Towyn, conveyancing having been completed 7 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding flats in Towyn with over 90 years remaining are worth £256,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2080

With just 59 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £22,800 and £26,400 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Towyn