Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Marylebone:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Marylebone, you will need to chose a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Halifax, Birmingham Midshires or Nationwide make sure you find a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Marylebone

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Marylebone. Before I get started I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Marylebone - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

My husband and I may need to rent out our Marylebone 1st floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Marylebone conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Marylebone conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to obtain consent via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Marylebone. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. A critical element 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 with the aim of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Marylebone can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
  • The majority landlords or managing agents in Marylebone charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common 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? Most leases in Marylebone state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you dont have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer in advance.
  • Some Marylebone leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.

    • I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can I make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Marylebone conveyancing firm to assist?

    You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Marylebone conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Marylebone flat 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 residue of the current lease was 24.02 years.

    What makes a Marylebone lease unacceptable for security purposes?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Marylebone is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
    • A duty to insure the building
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    You will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, Skipton Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Marylebone