Back In 2002, I bought a leasehold flat in Treharris. Conveyancing and Lloyds TSB Bank mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Treharris who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Treharris conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Treharris both have in the region of forty five years left on the lease term. should I be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Treharris where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Treharris conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done 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 purchaser.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Treharris conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Treharris conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Treharris conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

All being well we will complete our sale of a £425000 flat in Treharris on Friday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Treharris?

Treharris conveyancing on leasehold flats usually necessitates the buyer’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions the majority will be content to assist. They are entitled charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is above £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Treharris Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? This question is useful as a) areas could result in problems in the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the running of the building you will want to know about it Please note that where the lease has fewer than eighty years it will impact the value of the flat. 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 most likely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this will be. For most Treharrislease extensions you will be be obliged to have owned the residence for a couple of years before you are eligible to extend the lease.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Treharris