We were about to retain a conveyancing solicitor in Coney Hall listed by you but stumbled across alternative estimates on the internet seem less pricey – why is this?

There are a variety of solicitors marketing theoretically looks to be the cheapest conveyancing in Coney Hall. You should think twice as to how important this transaction is to you that you are willing to take 'cheap' risks with regard to the quality of the legal work. Many of them highlight a low quote to tempt you but hide supplemental fees in the small print..

The owners have rather assertive sellers who has suggested a lock out contract with a non-refundable deposit of 5k. Are such agreements sensible?

Lock out agreements are contracts binding a home owner and purchaser granting the buyer a ‘clear field’ to purchase the premises within a prescribed time frame. For all intents and purposes, an exclusivity is a document stating that you should have a contract at a later time being the contract for the actual sale. It tends to be used for buyer assurance though in some cases, the vendor may stand to benefit from such agreements as well. There are numerous positives and negatives to using an agreement but you should to check with your lawyer but note that it may end up incurring extra in conveyancing fees. For these reasons these agreements are unusual in relation to conveyancing in Coney Hall.

We are buying a 3 bedroom flat in Coney Hall with a homeloan from Barclays Direct.We use our Coney Hall conveyancing practitioner but Barclays Direct says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint a Barclays Direct panel firm or keep our high street solicitor and pay for a Barclays Direct panel lawyer to act for them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that Barclays Direct use our lawyer?

No, not really. The loan offered to you contains various provisions, a common one being that lawyers needs to be on the Barclays Direct solicitor panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could find one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Barclays Direct

My brother has suggested that I use his lawyers for conveyancing in Coney Hall. Do I take his advice?

No doubt the ideal way to choose a conveyancing lawyer is to have guidance from friends or relatives who have actually previously instructed the solicitor that you are contemplating using.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Coney Hall. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation 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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can a leaseholder apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Coney Hall conveyancing firm to represent me?

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to arrive at the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Coney Hall residence is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 50.57 years.