Leasehold Conveyancing in Treforest - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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Any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Treforest, 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 Treforest leasehold conveyancing

I have just started marketing my basement apartment in Treforest.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is clear the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Treforest. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I work for a busy estate agent office in Treforest where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Treforest conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer 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 at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Treforest conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Treforest conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you speak with two or three firms including non Treforest conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

  • How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
  • Can they put you in touch with client in Treforest who can give a testimonial?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Treforest from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Treforest can be reduced if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
    • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Treforest charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Treforest.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Treforest state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Should you dont have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Leasehold Conveyancing in Treforest - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

      Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge liability? Please note if it is no more than eighty years it will affect the marketability of the property. It is worth checking with your lender that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. A short lease means that you will almost definitely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the property for a couple of years in order to be entitled to extend the lease. It is important to be aware whether changing the roof or some other significant cost is due in the near future to be shared amongst the leaseholders and will materially impact the level of the maintenance fees or require a one off invoice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Treforest