My husband and I are acquiring a new build apartment in Crossness and my lawyer is advising me that she has to the bank to disclose incentives from the developer. I am on a tight deadline to sign contracts and I would rather not prolong the conveyancing. Is my lawyer right?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancer. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

I am selling my house in Crossness. Will the conveyancing practitioner have to be on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel in order to deal with repayment of my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their specifications fairly frequently currently.

What can a local search tell me regarding the property I am purchasing in Crossness?

Crossness conveyancing often commences with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search organisations such as PSG The local search is essential in every Crossness conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any nasty surprises after you move into your property. The search will provide data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 subject headings.

Am I right to be concerned by 3rd parties that I am dealing with are recommending an online conveyancing firm as opposed to a High Street Crossness conveyancing company?

As with lots of professional services, often recommendations from relatives can be worth their weight in gold. Yet there are lots of parties with a keen interest in a conveyancing matter; estate agents, mortgage brokers and mortgage companies may put forward lawyers to select. On occasion these solicitors might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but sometimes there may be a commercial relationship behind the endorsement. You are at liberty to select your preferred conveyancer. Don't forget that many mortgage providers specify a panel list of conveyancers you must use for the lender aspect of your home move.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Crossness both have about 50 years left on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Crossness is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the property. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Crossness conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I have given up negotiating a lease extension in Crossness. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

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

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Crossness flat is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case affected 13 flats. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 76 years.