My partner and I are looking to acquire a flat in Kingsland and are in fact using a Kingsland conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Barnsley Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Kingsland solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Kingsland solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

I have been told by my solicitor that restrictive coveneant insurance is needed on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Kingsland?

The right level of restrictive coveneant indemnity insurance should be dictated by who your lender. It would differ for example between National Westminster Bank and Skipton Building Society. Conveyancing practitioners as opposed to borrowers take out such policies.

We have agreed to purchase a house in Kingsland. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. UBS have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?

As you are obtaining a mortgage with UBS your lawyer must comply with the formal instructions set out in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for UBS. The CML Handbook sets out minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and lawyers are required to report to UBS where a lease does not meet these provisions. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not isolated to Kingsland.

I have a mortgage with Yorkshire BS for my property in Kingsland. Conveyancing was finalised 12 months ago. Should I wish to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Yorkshire BS?

You must advise Yorkshire BS before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Yorkshire BS’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Yorkshire BS directly. You need not do this via a Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel lawyer.

I acquired my apartment on 9 April and the transaction details is not yet on the land registry website. Any reason for this? My conveyancing solicitor in Kingsland expressed confidence that it would be recorded in a couple of weeks. Are properties in Kingsland particularly slow to register?

As far as conveyancing in Kingsland is concerned, registration is no quicker or slower than the rest of the country. Rather than based on location, timescales can differ subject to who lodges the application, whether it is in order and whether the Land registry communicate with any interested persons or bodies. Currently roughly 80% of such applications are fully dealt with within 12 days but occasionally there can be protracted delays. Historically registration takes place after the buyer has moved in to the property so an expedited registration is not typically top priority yet if it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your solicitor can speak with the land registry and explain the circumstances.

I'm purchasing a new build house in Kingsland with a loan from Chelsea Building Society. The sellers refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative told me not disclose to my lawyer about the extras as it will put at risk my mortgage with Chelsea Building Society. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can I apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Kingsland conveyancing firm to help?

if there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to determine the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Kingsland flat is 5C Stoke Newington Road in April 2010. the Tribunal therefore concludes that the premium to be paid for the extended lease is £700.00 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 80.5 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Kingsland what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Kingsland. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, Chelsea Building Society, and TSB all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.