We are a couple about to sign contracts for a garden flat in Heston. We encountered a problem. Our mortgage offer with Lloyds TSB Bank expires on 20/2/2025 but the vendors are insisting on a completion date of 24/2/2025. Is it possible to prolong the loan expiry date?

The best person to deal with your concern is your lawyer who is in a position to assess if they corresponding with the mortgage company, owner’s lawyers, selling agents or indeed all three taking into account the history of your house move to date.

My wife and I have organised the release of further monies on our mortgage from Kent Reliance as we intend to carry out improvements to our property in Heston. Do we need to choose a bricks and mortar Heston solicitor on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel to handle the legals?

Kent Reliance don't usually instruct firms on their approved list of lawyers to handle the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel.

I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Heston off the council. I have a mortgage offer with Yorkshire BS. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Yorkshire BS, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel.

I had an offer accepted on an apartment in Heston on 30/10/2024, valuation was booked 3 days after, all came back fine. Property lawyer instructed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Virgin Money and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. Are Virgin Money entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?

A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Virgin Money to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

I am looking for a ground for flat up to £245,000 and found one round the corner in Heston I like with open areas and station nearby, however it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Heston in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?

If you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will be problematic. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you may ask them to start the process of the extension 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 speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Heston where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Heston conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a Heston conveyancing firm to represent me?

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

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Heston premises is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 60.45 years.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Heston. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Heston ?

Most houses in Heston are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Heston so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Heston conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.