My father informed me that in purchasing a property in East Sheen there may be a number of restrictions preventing external changes to a property. Is this right?

There are a number of properties in East Sheen which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external variations. Part of the conveyancing in East Sheen should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

Is it the case that all East Sheen conveyancing solicitors on the Nationwide conveyancing panel are overseen by the SRA?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Nationwide conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Some banks do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the firms would be governed by the CLC.

My wife and I are in the process of viewing apartments in East Sheen and I am about to put in an offer. Is it sensible to have a conveyancer on ‘stand by’? I intend to finance via a home loan with Aldermore.

It would be wise to instigate your search sooner rather than later. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their contact information on to the EA. Given that you are taking out a mortgage with Aldermore, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Aldermore conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

Should our solicitor be making enquiries regarding flooding during the conveyancing in East Sheen.

Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers dealing with homes in East Sheen. Plenty of people will purchase a property in East Sheen, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical destruction, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or sell the property. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.

Conveyancers are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, but there are a number of checks that can be undertaken by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which can give them a better understanding of the risks in East Sheen. The standard property information forms sent to a buyer’s lawyer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) incorporates a standard inquiry of the seller to discover whether the premises has historically flooded. In the event that the premises has been flooded in past which is not notified by the owner, then a buyer could bring a claim for damages stemming from an misleading response. The purchaser’s solicitors may also commission an environmental report. This will disclose if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries should be carried out.

I am buying a new build apartment in East Sheen. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.

Here is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in East Sheen

Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified.

There are only 72 years unexpired on my flat in East Sheen. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that 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 mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist would be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering East Sheen.

After years of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in East Sheen. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a East Sheen property is 19 St. Margarets Crescent in August 2010. the tribunal was of the view that the premium to be paid by the leaseholder for the freehold reversion was £51,983.00 This case affected 3 flats. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 66.25 years.

My wife and I have instructed a East Sheen conveyancing solicitor for our home move (novice purchasers) and have picked up in the Ts and Cs that they are not overseen by the FCA. Should I be concerned or is that the norm with conveyancing practitioner?

We can't see why they should be. Most solicitor don't lend money. They should be regulated by the SRA, who dictate stringent stipulations regulating monies deposited in their bank.