Is it necessary during the course of the conveyancing process to visit the offices of the solicitor to execute the mortgage deed? If so, I will choose one who does conveyancing in Caernarfon so that I can pop in to their offices when needed.

Nowadays approved lawyers for lenders conduct the vast majority of work via Royal Mail, e-mail or over the phone. This enables them to conduct the legal work for your home move no matter where you live in England or Wales. That being said you should check if you have the option of going to the offices of your conveyancing lawyer if just in case this is required.

I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Caernarfon I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Caernarfon suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?

Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will be an issue. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.

In what way can the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 affect my business property in Caernarfon and how can your lawyers assist?

The particular law that you refer to gives protection to commercial lessees, giving them the dueness to make a request to court for a continuation of occupancy at the end of the lease term. There are limited grounds that a landlord can refrain from granting a lease renewal and the rules are complicated. We are happy to direct you to commercial conveyancing solicitors who use the act for protection and assist with commercial conveyancing in Caernarfon

Last June I purchased a leasehold flat in Caernarfon. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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 be sure 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 bought a basement flat in Caernarfon, conveyancing formalities finalised 3 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding flats in Caernarfon with over 90 years remaining are worth £195,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2081

With 63 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £16,200 and £18,600 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

I purchased a flat in Caernarfon last 13/9/2017 and to date it is still not registered with the Land Registry. It was part of a development site and my property lawyer told me that it may take one year to register. I have contacted HMLR directly and they say that the original application was cancelled due to failure to reply to requisitions. What can I do?

get in touch with your lawyer - if you are not getting sensible responses, enquire as to their firm’s complaints procedure and escalate your concerns to a Complaints Manager. Registrations for Caernarfon conveyancing are not known to be especially complex.