Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Mayfair. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Setting out your rights in relation to the communal areas in the block.E.G., does the lease permit a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• 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
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Mayfair both have in the region of 50 years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Mayfair from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Mayfair can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Mayfair levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought 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 delay in leasehold conveyancing in Mayfair.
• A minority of Mayfair leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 buyers or their lawyers.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers 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 settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £ 400000 apartment in Mayfair in seven days. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Mayfair?

Mayfair conveyancing on leasehold flats usually requires the buyer’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions most will be willing to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is above £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I am the leaseholder of a ground-floor 1960’s flat in Mayfair. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount payable for the purchase of the freehold?

Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the LVT to calculate the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Mayfair flat is Flat 1 3 Upper Belgrave Street in December 2010. The Tribunal determined that the price payablefor the Lease extension in respect of the subject premises was £2,202,007 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 21 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Mayfair what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Mayfair. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Coventry Building Society, and TSB all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Mayfair Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

The best form of lease structure is where the freehold interest is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the tenants have control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually employed if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. It would be a good idea to discover if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example some leases prohibit pets being allowed in certain buildings in Mayfair. If you like the propertyin Mayfair however your dog is not allowed to make the move with you then you have a very hard decision.