I had a mortgage agreed in principle with HSBC. Dore conveyancing solicitors were appointed. How long does it take for HSBC to forward the offer to the solicitor?

There is no definitive answer here. Have HSBC completed the valuation? Have you informed HSBC as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the HSBC conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Dore. I have a mortgage offer with Aldermore. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Aldermore, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Aldermore conveyancing panel.

The mortgage over my property is with UBS for my property in Dore. Conveyancing was finalised a year ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform UBS?

UBS must be informed of your intention prior to renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of UBS’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact UBS directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a UBS conveyancing panel firm.

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my house are lost. The solicitors who handled the conveyancing in Dore 4 years ago are no longer around. What are my options?

As long as you have a registered title the information relating to your ownership will be recorded by the Land Registry under a Title Number. It is easy to execute a search at the Land Registry, locate your property and secure up to date copies of the property title for a small fee. If the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually retain a file duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be retrieved for a small fee.

How does conveyancing in Dore differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Dore approach us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is built. This is because new home sellers in Dore typically purchase the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Dore or who has acted in the same development.

How can the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 affect my commercial offices in Dore and how can your lawyers assist?

The 1954 Act affords protection to business lessees, granting the a statutory right to make a request to court for a continuation of occupancy at the end of an expired lease. There are limited grounds where a landlord can refrain from granting a lease renewal and the rules are complex. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Dore is one of the hundreds of locations in which our lawyers are located

There are only Seventy years left on my flat in Dore. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist should be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Dore.

Dore Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Plenty Dore leasehold apartments will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the block set on behalf of the management company. If you purchase the property you will have to meet this contribution, usually periodically accross the year. This could be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge to be met yearly, this is usually not a large figure, say about £25-£75 but you should to check it because on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the lessees enjoy being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is frequently retained if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders.