I have just started marketing my garden apartment in West London.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have just found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in West London. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in West London ?

Most houses in West London are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in West London so you should seriously consider shopping around for a West London conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a West London conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a West London conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non West London conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• Can they put you in touch with client in West London who can give a testimonial?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in West London with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in West London can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in West London levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in West London.
• Some West London leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Organising a new share certificate can be a time consuming process and frustrates many a West London conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is important 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 home on the market for sale.

We expect to complete our sale of a £ 500000 garden flat in West London in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in West London?

For most leasehold sales in West London conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in West London
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for West London leasehold property is £350. For West London conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply the information.

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

if there is a absentee landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to judgment on the price.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a West London residence is 137 & 139 Haberdasher Street in December 2013. The Tribunal determines in accordance with section 48 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease for each Property should be £12,350.00. This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 72.39 years.

I bought a leasehold flat in West London, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in West London with an extended lease are worth £264,000. The ground rent is £60 yearly. The lease finishes on 21st October 2086

You have 60 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £26,600 and £30,800 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.