Our Earls Court lawyer has uncovered an inconsistency when comparing the information in the valuation report and what is revealed within the legal papers for the property. My solicitor says that he must ensure that the bank is OK with this discrepancy and is still content to lend. Is my solicitor’s approach correct?

Your conveyancing practitioner must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for both parties.

I am looking to buy a property and require a conveyancing solicitor in Earls Court who is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing. Can you recommend a local firm?

Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Leeds Building Society in certain locations such as Earls Court. We dont recommend any particular firm.

We had appointed conveyancing lawyers with offices in Earls Court on the Nationwide solicitor panel. They are now charging me a supplemental fee for dealing with the Nationwide mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set by Nationwide?

Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your property lawyer can levy a fee for this. This charge is not dictated by Nationwide but by your Earls Court conveyancing practitioner. Plenty of firms on the Nationwide panel will quote ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but many firms incorporate it on their overall fee.

I can not work out if my lender obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have telephoned my Earls Court bank branch on various occasions and was told it does not impact the mortgage offer and they will lend. My Earls Court conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- called to say that they refuse to lend in accordance with their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. Who do I believe?

Your property lawyer has to follow the CML Handbook section two provisions for your bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.

I am due to exchange contracts on my house. I had a double glazing fitted in September 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Nationwide are being a right pain. The Earls Court solicitor who is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Nationwide are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Nationwide have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Nationwide have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Nationwide may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what should have been a quick, no chain conveyancing. Earls Court is the location of the property. What do you suggest?

Flying freeholds in Earls Court are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Earls Court you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Earls Court may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Earls Court which have about 50 years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Earls Court. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena.

Following months of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Earls Court. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

if there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to determine the price.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Earls Court premises is 5 Wetherby Gardens in June 2014. the Tribunal concluded that the price to be paid for the freehold of the property was £2,369,452. This case affected 5 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 38.98 years.