I have been told that property searches are the main reason for hinderance in East London house deals. Is this right?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the findings of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the most frequent causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are not likely to be the root cause of slowing down conveyancing in East London.

It has been five months following my purchase conveyancing in East London concluded. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

How does conveyancing in East London differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in East London contact us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is completed. This is because house builders in East London tend to acquire 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in East London or who has acted in the same development.

Am I best advised to go with a East London conveyancing lawyer based in the vicinity that I am purchasing? I have an old university friend who can carry out the legal formalities but her office is over three hundred kilometers away.

The benefit of a local East London conveyancing practice is that you can drop in to execute documents, hand in your identification documents and pester them where appropriate. They will also have local insight which is a benefit. However it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If other friends have instructed your friend and they were impressed that should outweigh using an unknown East London conveyancing lawyer just because they are based in the area.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in East London where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local East London conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

After years of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in East London. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a East London conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a East London flat is 20 Avonwick Road in July 2013. The Tribunal was dealing with an application under Section 26 of the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 for a determination of the freehold value of the property. It was concluded that the price to be paid was Fifteen Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy (£15,970) divided as to £8,200 for Flat 20 and £7,770 for Flat 20A This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 73.26 years.