Planning to complete next month on a basement flat in Tredegar. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Tredegar should include some of the following:

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark

The physical extent of the premises. This will be the property itself but may incorporate a roof space or cellar if applicable.

Setting out your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the block.E.G., does the lease contain a right of way over an accessway or staircase?

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future

The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

Responsibility for repairing the window frames For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Tredegar please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Tredegar

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Tredegar. Conveyancing and Godiva Mortgages Ltd mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Tredegar who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Tredegar conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note 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 reputable estate agency in Tredegar where we see a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Tredegar conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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 Tredegar from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Tredegar can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Tredegar levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Tredegar.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Tredegar leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you fail to have the consents to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.

A minority of Tredegar leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (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 buyers or their lawyers.

If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £475000 apartment in Tredegar in 8 days. The freeholder has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Tredegar?

Tredegar conveyancing on leasehold flats typically results in administration charges raised by management companies :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Tredegar
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Tredegar leasehold premises is £350. For Tredegar 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 obliged to supply the information.

I acquired a ground floor flat in Tredegar, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Tredegar with an extended lease are worth £188,000. The ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2087

With 63 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £16,200 and £18,600 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending 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 are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Tredegar