We are purchasing a brand new duplex in Swiss Cottage and my lawyer is advising me that she has to the mortgage company to disclose incentives from the builder. I am on a tight deadline to sign contracts and I would rather not prolong deal. is my lawyer playing by the book?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property lawyer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. 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 need some fast conveyancing in Swiss Cottage as I have pressure to exchange contracts in less than 2 weeks. A mortgage is not required. Is it possible to avoid the conveyancing searches to save money and time?

As you are not getting a mortgage you have the choice not to do searches although no law firm would recommend that you don't. With plenty of history conveyancing in Swiss Cottage the following are instances of what can arise and therefore affect the marketability of the property: Refused Planning Applications, Overdue Fees, Overdue Grants, Unadopted Roads,...

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Swiss Cottage. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.

Set out below is a sample of a few leasehold new build questions that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Swiss Cottage

Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Please supply evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore.

I have been on the look out for a flat up to £305k and found one close by in Swiss Cottage I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it's only got 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Swiss Cottage in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

Should you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will be an issue. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Swiss Cottage where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Swiss Cottage conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Despite our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in seeking a lease extension in Swiss Cottage. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Swiss Cottage conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Swiss Cottage premises is First Floor Flat 20 Fitzjohns Avenue in July 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premiums to be paid for new leases in respect of the Raised Ground Floor Flat and the First Floor Flat were to be calculated as: Raised Ground Floor: £765,175.14 First Floor: £601,617.77 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 16.83 and 16.43.