I am told that my conveyancing solicitors will need to check that the building insurance for my purchase of a house in Erith. My lender is Chelsea Building Society

Chelsea Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 13/11/2024, the requirements read as follows :

My wife and I own a semi-detached Victorian property in Erith. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Lloyds TSB Bank. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Erith and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the position with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the conveyancing.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £245,000 and found one round the corner in Erith I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 51 years on the lease. There is not much else in Erith for this price, 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 an issue. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.

My father-in-law has recommend that I appoint his conveyancing solicitors in Erith. Should I find my own property lawyer?

Much as we are happy to recommend a Erith conveyancing lawyer the ideal way to select a conveyancing solicitor is to have recommendations from friends or family who have used the solicitor you're considering.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Erith from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Erith can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale. If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Erith home move. Where a new share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity. Some Erith leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors. If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Erith state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. If you dont have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.

I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in Erith. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

if there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Erith premises is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case was in relation to 13 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 76 years.