My colleague suggested that if I am purchasing in Gospel Oak I should ask my conveyancer to perform a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?

A search of this type is occasionally included in the estimate for your Gospel Oak conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out important information about Gospel Oak around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Gospel Oak Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Gospel Oak.

It has been five months since my purchase conveyancing in Gospel Oak completed. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £160,000. 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 residence 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 Gospel Oak differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Gospel Oak approach us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is finished. This is because developers in Gospel Oak tend to buy the land, 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 used to new build conveyancing in Gospel Oak or who has acted in the same development.

Expecting to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Gospel Oak. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Gospel Oak should include some of the following:

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice? specifics of the parties to the lease, e.g. these could be the tennant, head lessor, freeholder Setting out your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the block.For example, does the lease contain a right of way over a path or hallways? The total extent of the demise. This may be the flat itself but may include a roof space or cellar if applicable. Ground rent - what is due and when is collected, and also know whether this will change in the future

We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in Gospel Oak. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Where there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Gospel Oak premises is Flat 2 27 Mackeson Road in December 2012. The Tribunal assessed the value of the lease extension premium at £35,435 and rounded the figure to £35,500 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 64.77 years.

I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Gospel Oak.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed however I have just had a yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is clear the service charge as usual because all rents and service invoices should be apportionedas part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially