Our son is about to exchange on a newly built flat in East Barnet with a home loan from Clydesdale. His solicitor has advised him of a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?

The form is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when asked. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Clydesdale conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

I require quick conveyancing in East Barnet as I have pressure to complete in less than one month. A home loan is not required. Can I avoid the conveyancing searches to save fees and time?

If.Given you are not getting a mortgage you have the choice not to do searches although no solicitor would advise that you don't. Drawing on our experience of conveyancing in East Barnet the following are examples of issues that can show up and therefore affect market value: Enforcement Notices, Outstanding Charges, Outstanding Grants, Unadopted Roads,...

I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and identified one round the corner in East Barnet I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, however it's only got 51 years on the lease. There is not much else in East Barnet suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?

If you need a home loan that many years will likely be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for at least 2 years you could request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.

We are a couple of weeks into a leasehold purchase having been directed to a firm by the high street agent to do our conveyancing in East Barnet. I am am extremely dissatisfied with the quality of service. Can you you assist me in finding new solicitors?

They would have to be very poor to suggest changing them. Has the mortgage been generated? In the event that it has you need to advise them of the new contact details and get the mortgage documents are re-issued. The conveyancer should be on the lenders approved list to avoid supplemental fees and frustration. That should be your first question of the new conveyancers. The find a solicitor tool can assist you in finding a bank approved solicitor for your home move in East Barnet

Following months of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in East Barnet. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the price.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a East Barnet residence is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 70.31 years.

What are the frequently found defects that you come across in leases for East Barnet properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in East Barnet. All leases are drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party. A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , Virgin Money, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.