I am the registered owner of a freehold residence in Llanfairfechan but still invoiced for rent, why is this and what is this?

It is rare for properties in Llanfairfechan and has limited impact for conveyancing in Llanfairfechan but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.

Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back hundreds of years, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the creation of fresh rentcharges post 1977.

Previous rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence after 2037 is to be dispensed with completely.

The Llanfairfechan conveyancing lawyers that I recently instructed on my purchase in Llanfairfechan have suddenly shut down. I only went with them because I had to have a firm on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel and my preferred Llanfairfechan lawyer was not. I cut them a cheque for £250 in advance. What do I do now?

If you have an estate agent involved then let them know immediately so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers may be able to assist.

I am buying a new build house in Llanfairfechan with the aid of help to buy. The sellers refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The sale representative advised me not inform my conveyancer about this side-deal as it could jeopardize my mortgage with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

I was pointed in your direction by a few property agents in Llanfairfechan to select a property lawyer on your site. Is there a financial inducement for Estate Agents to market your services over another?

We refuse to offer any commission for directing people to this site. We found it would be just too difficult to pay a commission as home movers will think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Llanfairfechan where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Llanfairfechan conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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 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 has to be done before, or at the same time as 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 buyer.

I am the registered owner of a 2 bed flat in Llanfairfechan, conveyancing was carried out in 2004. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Llanfairfechan with an extended lease are worth £176,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2105

You have 80 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £7,600 and £8,800 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.