My partner and I are purchasing a new build flat in Greenford and my lawyer is telling me that she is duty bound to the lender to reveal incentives from the developer. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange and my preference is not to prolong matters. Is my lawyer right?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property lawyer. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

We are due to move home in January. Will my conveyancing solicitor liaise with the removal company on the day of completion. As an aside, can you recommend a removal company in Greenford. Conveyancing solicitor was organised before I stumbled across this page.

On the afternoon of completion you will need to pick up the house keys from the estate agent but this can only be done after the vendors lawyers advise the agent that they acknowledge receipt of the completion payment and the keys can be given over. Subsequently you should advise the removal men that they can start moving you in. We do not recommend a specific removal organisation but can assist you in finding a conveyancing in Greenford or a legal practice with expertise in conveyancing in Greenford.

My husband and I have organised a further advance on our home loan from Aldermore as we want to conduct alterations to our house in Greenford. Are we obliged to appoint a bricks and mortar Greenford solicitor on the Aldermore conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?

Aldermore don't usually appoint firms on their approved list of lawyers to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Aldermore list.

After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Greenford. My financial adviser suggested a lawyer. I paid an advanced payment of £175. Shortly after, the property lawyer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Leeds Building Society panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I own a terraced Georgian property in Greenford. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and HSBC Bank. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same address. Is it worth asking HSBC Bank to clarify?

You need to read 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 Greenford and other areas of 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 check the position with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the purchase.

I am using a search engine for the words cheap conveyancing in Greenford it shows results of numerous solicitorsin the vicinity. With so much choice what is the best way to find the suitable property lawyer for my move?

The best method of choosing the right conveyancer is via trusted recommendation, so ask friends and family who have acquired a property in Greenford or a local estate agent or mortgage broker. Fees for conveyancing in Greenford differ, so it's advisable to secure a minimum of three quotes from different conveyancers. Dont forget to clarify that the fees are fixed.

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Greenford which have approximately forty five years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Greenford is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. For most buyers and banks, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Greenford conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I am the registered owner of a ground floor flat in Greenford. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum due for a lease extension?

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

An example of a lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Greenford property is 25 Beechwood Avenue in November 2012. the Tribunal accordingly determined that the premium for the lease extension should be £24,353. This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 58.19 years.