My wife and I are due to complete on the purchase of a house in South Croydon but as a result of damage from the recent storms I have managed to agree reparation from the owner of £2k in the form of a adjustment in the price. This was going to be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process however Coventry BS are not allowing this. Should they have been informed?

Any conveyancing practitioner being on the Coventry BS approved list is duty bound to disclose to Coventry BS of any amendments to the sale price. If you were to refuse your lawyer to disclose the price change to Coventry BS then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Coventry BS and you would have to appoint a new solicitor for your conveyancing in South Croydon.

I need some expedited conveyancing in South Croydon as I have an ultimatum to complete in less than 4 weeks. A mortgage is not required. Is it possible to avoid the conveyancing searches to save fees and time?

If.Given you are are a cash buyer you are at free not to do searches although no conveyancer would advise that you don't. Drawing on years of experience of conveyancing in South Croydon the following are instances of issues that can show up and therefore affect market value: Enforcement Actions, Overdue Charges, Outstanding Grants, Road Schemes,...

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and found one close by in South Croydon I like with a park and transport links nearby, the downside is that it only has 61 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in South Croydon suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?

If you require a mortgage that many years will likely be problematic. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you could request that they 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 consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.

Looking forward to complete next month on a ground floor flat in South Croydon. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in South Croydon should include some of the following:

The total extent of the property. This could be the apartment itself but might incorporate a roof area or basement if applicable. Alterations to the premises What you can do if another leaseholder in the building is in violation of a provision in their lease? What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? specifics of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder, superior lessor, landlord

I own a a ground floor purpose built flat in South Croydon. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount due for the purchase of the freehold?

if there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to judgment on the amount due.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a South Croydon property is The Woodlands 95 Purley Park Road in April 2009. The Tribunals own valuation produced the fi
gure of £37,912. This case affected 6 flats. The unexpired lease term was 78.32 years.

My son is just in the process of moving home, the home loan was agreed last week in principle. When the offer was accepted on house we contacted the mortgage company to progress the mortgage application. We were shocked to discover that mortgage companies do not accept all conveyancing practitioner, they have to be on a list, is this right?

Banks tend to imposes restrictions either the type or the number of conveyancing solicitors on their approved list of lawyers. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that banks have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any South Croydon solicitor on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Probably not.