What is the first thing I need to know regarding purchase conveyancing in Rhosllanerchrugog?
You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Rhosllanerchrugog and elsewhere in England and Wales is often a confrontational process. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there is an abundance of opportunity for confrontation between you and other parties involved in the legal transfer of property. For instance, the seller, selling agent and even potentially the bank. Selecting a law firm for your conveyancing in Rhosllanerchrugog is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the SOLE person in the legal process whose interest is to act in your legal interests and to protect you.
We are witnessing a definite creep in the "blame" culture- someone has to be at fault for the process being so protracted. You should always trust your conveyancer ahead of all other players when it comes to the legal transfer of property.
I have 71 years unexpired on my lease and need a lease extension for my apartment in Rhosllanerchrugog. Conveyancing solicitors on the Nationwide Building Society panel can deal with such extensions right?
Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are obtaining a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. Nationwide Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 4/9/2025 the requirements read as follows :
- There must be at least 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term (regardless of the length of lease at the start).
Where the unexpired lease term is different to that recorded on the mortgage offer, the following clarifies if we need to be informed:
Second hand property:
- If the unexpired lease term on the offer is 85 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 85 years
- if the unexpired lease term on the offer is less than 85 years – advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported
- For equity share applications - advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
- Where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat and the unexpired lease term on the offer is 90 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 90 years.
New build property:
- If the unexpired lease term stated on the offer is 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house) or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house)
- For equity share applications - always advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
Lease terms such as ground rent and event fees must be reasonable at all times during the term of the lease and adhere to our requirements below. If you’re unsure as to whether the terms of a lease are unreasonable or onerous, please refer the details to us in plain English for Valuer consideration. If the potentially onerous terms are in relation to the ground rent please include the current ground rent figure per annum, how often it will be reviewed and the price structure it will be reviewed against. See the guidance below.
SECOND HAND PROPERTIES
Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 55 years
- Unexpired lease term less than 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat
- Less than 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term
- Ground Rent greater than 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent doubles less than every 20 years (e.g. doubles every 5, 10 or 15 years) - acceptable if doubles every 20 years or more
- Ground Rent is compounded RPI
- Ground Rent review period is less than or equal to 5 years
Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Unexpired lease term is 55 to 85 years
- Ground Rent greater than 0.1% and less than or equal to 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to any indices greater than RPI
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building*
- Ground Rent review period is greater than 5 and less than 10 years
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial, etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything that appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary
Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than 85 years (Minimum 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat)
- Ground Rent less than or equal to 0.1% of the property value
- Ground Rent review period greater than or equal to 10 years
- Ground Rent escalation less than or equal to RPI
NEW BUILD PROPERTIES (includes office conversions)
Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined)
- Unexpired lease term less than 125 years on a new build flat or less than 250 years on a new build house (does not apply to Shared Ownership)
- Any lease which is subject to a Ground Rent (or Annual Rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
- Any lease which is subject to a Ground Rent (or Annual Rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything else appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary
Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than or equal to 125 years on a new build flat or greater than or equal to 250 years on a new build house
- A lease subject to a peppercorn Ground Rent (Annual Rent) charges
For the avoidance of doubt, any New Build properties completed but not sold pre-30 June 2022 will only be acceptable if the Lease conforms to the above guidance.
* Where the Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building, please provide the following:
- How is the value of the block/unit currently calculated and if the assessment relates to the block(s), how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned per property?
- The current valuation and Ground Rent for each unit
- What is the mechanism for future valuations of the block and how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned?
- What is the right of appeal? And is this a documented process within the lease?
- Who bears the cost of the valuation (and appeal) process?
- Confirmation the review period is not less than twenty years.
Lease Extensions
We require all Lease Extensions to be completed under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and to meet the above criteria as a minimum. Where you become aware that it does not meet these requirements, please refer to Issuing Office.
Please ensure that all lender enquiries are submitted (with full documentation/requirements) at least 2 weeks prior to exchange to allow sufficient time for review and decisioning.
About to purchase a new build flat in Rhosllanerchrugog. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.
Set out below are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Rhosllanerchrugog
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The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry.
I am looking for a flat up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Rhosllanerchrugog I like with open areas and station nearby, however it's only got 51 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Rhosllanerchrugog in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?
If you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be problematic. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Rhosllanerchrugog from the perspective of expediting the sale process?
- Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Rhosllanerchrugog can be avoided if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers. If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Rhosllanerchrugog leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. If you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand. Many landlords or Management Companies in Rhosllanerchrugog charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Rhosllanerchrugog. If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a Rhosllanerchrugog conveyancing transaction. Where a new share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
Rhosllanerchrugog Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing
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Is there a share of the freehold? How much is the ground rent and service charge? Is anyone aware of any major works on the horizon that will add a premium to the service charges?
New build sellers have suggested I use a lawyer and I've obtained an estimate from them. It's nearly £400 cheaper than my own Rhosllanerchrugog solicitor. What's the catch?
Housebuilders often have panels of conveyancing practitioners who are quick and who know the developer’s paperwork and conveyancer. As many developers offer an incentive to choose their approved property lawyer for this reason, any increased fees can be avoided and a builder won't put forward a conveyancing factory and run the risk of having the conveyancing delayed when they need an exchange within a tight time frame. The argument for not agreeing to use the recommended conveyancing practitioner is that they may be hesitant to 'push' your interests at the risk of alienating the housebuilder. Where you have concerns that this may be the case you should keep with your high street Rhosllanerchrugog lawyer.