The owners have very brash sellers who has insisted on a lock out contract with a non-refundable deposit 6,000. Are such arrangements the norm for Hampton conveyancing transactions?

There are two primary concerns with entering into any lock out agreement (sometimes termed a no-shop agreement) is that it takes away the focus from moving forward with the conveyancing transaction itself, so in the absence of it needing limited or no negotiation then it may turn out to be a hindrance. It is not strongly advocated by Hampton conveyancing lawyers for this reason. A further issue is the extent of the remedies available - an aggrieved purchaser should not expect to secure an injunctive ruling by a court to prohibit the vendor completing the sale to a third party, so the only remedy open via the contract will be the recovery of abortive charges and, in rare scenarios, the additional payment of penalties.

I am selling my home in Hampton. Will my conveyancer have to be on the Barclays conveyancing panel in order to deal with repayment of my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Barclays conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their panel criteria fairly frequently in recent years.

A relative advised me that if I am buying in Hampton I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

This is a search is occasionally included in the estimate for your Hampton conveyancing searches. It is a large report of about 40 pages, listing and setting out important information about Hampton around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Hampton Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Hampton.

I am 3 weeks into a leasehold purchase having been directed to solicitors by the high street agent to carry out the conveyancing in Hampton. We are not happy. Can you you assist me in finding new conveyancers?

A lawyer would need to be very poor in order to consider diss instructing them. Has the loan offer been issued? In the event that it has you need to make them aware of the new conveyancer and have the mortgage documents are re-sent. Your new solicitor ideally needs to be on the lenders panel to avoid escalating expenses and frustration. So that should be your first question of the new solicitors. The find a solicitor tool should assist you in finding a lender approved lawyer for your home move in Hampton

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Hampton. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I have given up seeking a lease extension in Hampton. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Hampton conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Hampton property is 147 Redford Close in June 2012. The Tribunal determined the lease extension premium to be at £4,200 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 82.93 years.