Having been suggested to visit your web site we were about to use a conveyancing solicitor in Cranford recommended by you but stumbled across alternative fee calculations via the web look less pricey – why is this?

There are lots of conveyancing outfits advertising what appear to be cut price. We suggest that you think long and hard about how much you respect your own move to want to take 'cheap' risks with regard to the quality of the legal work. Many of them accentuate a cheap quote as a headline but bury extra charges in the small print..

I am acquiring a property for cash in Cranford. I have been living for the last dozen years in Cranford. Conveyancing searches are expensive. As I have knowledge of the area and road intimately should I not bother getting the solicitor to do all the conveyancing searches?

If you not getting a mortgage, then all but one or two of the Cranford conveyancing searches are non-obligatory. Your conveyancer will try and sway you, no-doubt strongly, that you should have searches completed, but he has a professional duty to take that path of guidance. Do consider; if you are likely to dispose of the house one day, it could be of relevance to your future purchaser what the searches reveal. On occasion properties with day to day issues can still throw up negative search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in Cranford should be able to give you some sensible guidance concerning this.

Just had an offer accepted on a new build apartment in Cranford. 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 are examples of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Cranford

Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company?

I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and identified one round the corner in Cranford I like with amenity areas and transport links nearby, however it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Cranford in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?

If you require a home loan that many years will be problematic. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least 2 years you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years left on my flat in Cranford. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Cranford.

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

Where there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to judgment on the amount due.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Cranford premises is 164 Nestles Avenue in October 2013. The tribunal agreed with the proposed price of £20,158 for the freehold and determined that that sum is the amount to be paid into court This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 69 years.