Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Marylebone. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Marylebone - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Expecting to complete next month on a studio apartment in Marylebone. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Marylebone should include some of the following:

• Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

I've found a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Marylebone. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Marylebone are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Marylebone in which case you should be shopping around for a Marylebone conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor will advise you fully on all the issues.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Marylebone. 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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Marylebone from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Marylebone can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Marylebone charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Marylebone.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Marylebone leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you dont have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and pay 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 are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your conveyancers. 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 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Following years of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Marylebone. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Marylebone conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Marylebone residence is Flats 37 & 39 88/90 Portland Place in December 2010. The Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the lease extensions in respect of these two flats is as follows:- For Flat 37, the sum of £385,230.00 For Flat 39, the sum of £436,780.00 This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 24.02 years.

I bought a 1 bedroom flat in Marylebone, conveyancing formalities finalised 2001. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding properties in Marylebone with an extended lease are worth £260,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2084

With only 58 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £25,700 and £29,600 as well as professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.