I today plan to offer on a house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Trefnant. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Trefnant ?

The majority of houses in Trefnant are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Trefnant so you should seriously consider looking for a Trefnant conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Trefnant where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Trefnant conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser 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 needs to be completed prior to, 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Trefnant conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Trefnant conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Trefnant conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

What are the charges for lease extension work?

We expect to complete the sale of our £425000 flat in Trefnant next Friday . The managing agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Trefnant?

For most leasehold sales in Trefnant conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Trefnant
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Trefnant leasehold property is £350. For Trefnant 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 provide answers.

What makes a Trefnant lease unacceptable for security purposes?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Trefnant. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• 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

You will 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. Birmingham Midshires, Chelsea Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Trefnant Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

This information is useful as a) areas may cause problems for the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate if services are not paid for b) if the tenants have a dispute with the managing agents you will need to know about it Where a Trefnant lease has no more than 80 years it will affect the salability of the flat. Check with your lender that they are content with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will be be obliged to have been the owner of the property for 24 months in order to be entitled to extend the lease. It would be prudent to enquire if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. By way of example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in in a block in Trefnant. If you love the flatin Trefnant but your dog is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be faced difficult choice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Trefnant