My son is about to exchange on a new build apartment in Kidbrooke with a mortgage from Yorkshire BS. His solicitor has advised him of a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?

The document is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

Can you point me to a directory of Bank of Ireland panel conveyancers in Kidbrooke on the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Website?

No. There is no such facility on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association sites. Very few banks make their panel listings open the public on the web. Where you are in need of a Kidbrooke conveyancing practitioner on the Bank of Ireland please use our tool.

I'm spending time viewing houses in Kidbrooke and I am about to put in an offer. Is it sensible to have my lawyer on ‘stand by’? I will be getting a home loan with Barclays.

You should start obtaining conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the EA. Given that you are getting a mortgage with Barclays, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Barclays conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Kidbrooke. I have a mortgage agreed with Kent Reliance. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have 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 Kent Reliance, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Kidbrooke. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Here are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Kidbrooke

Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified. Please supply a car parking plan. Please supply evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose?

I am looking for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one near me in Kidbrooke I like with a park and railway links nearby, however it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Kidbrooke suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?

If you require a home loan that many years may be an issue. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you may request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £275,000 flat in Kidbrooke next week. The freeholder has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Kidbrooke?

Kidbrooke conveyancing on leasehold apartments ordinarily involves fees being levied by managing agents :

Addressing pre-contract questions Where consent is required before sale in Kidbrooke Copies of the building insurance and schedule Deeds of covenant upon sale Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Kidbrooke leasehold premises is £350. For Kidbrooke conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply the information.

I am the proprietor of a ground-floor 1950’s flat in Kidbrooke. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum payable for a lease extension?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Kidbrooke flat is 18 Handen Road in April 2013. On 26 October 2012 District Judge Zimmels sitting at the Lambeth County Court made a Vesting Order that the Applicants be granted the right to acquire the freehold upon such terms and at such price determined by the LVT. The Tribunal arrived a figure of £39,535 as a valuation for the enfranchisement. This case affected 3 flats. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 69.05 years.