My best friend’s step-father is a solicitor. I am hopeful that I will receive friends and family pricing for conveyancing, However if that does not come through, what kind of fees should I be expecting for conveyancing in Knightsbridge?

You should contrast pricing. Do use our search tool on this site. Whilst charges seem to contrast greatly but the service one can expect are distinct between solicitors as is true with most professions.

The Knightsbridge conveyancing lawyers that I appointed last week on my house acquisition in Knightsbridge have without warning shut down. I only went with them because I had to have a firm on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel and my previous Knightsbridge lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take one hundred and fifty pounds for searches. What should be my next steps?

If you have an estate agent involved then inform them immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers should be in a position to help.

A relative suggested that if I am buying in Knightsbridge I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Knightsbridge conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Knightsbridge around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Knightsbridge Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Knightsbridge.

How does conveyancing in Knightsbridge differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in Knightsbridge contact us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is built. This is because builders in Knightsbridge tend to buy the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Knightsbridge or who has acted in the same development.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Knightsbridge conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Knightsbridge conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Knightsbridge conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions could be useful:

If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason? Can they put you in touch with clients in Knightsbridge who can give a testimonial?

Following years of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Knightsbridge. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Knightsbridge property is Flat 3 47 Cadogan Square in December 2010. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable to the landord by the leaseholder for the lease extension was £732,935 This case related to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 13.33 years.