My solicitor has uncovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the property we are purchasing in South Hornchurch. The seller’s lawyers have offered defective title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our conveyancer says that he must check that the lender is happy with this solution. Are we the client or is the bank?

The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the bank are the client. Your conveyancing practitioner must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the lender can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your property lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.

We are getting a further advance on our mortgage from Nottingham as we intend to carry out alterations to our property in South Hornchurch. Are we obliged to select a bricks and mortar South Hornchurch solicitor on the Nottingham conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?

Nottingham would not normally instruct firms on their approved list of lawyers to deal with such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Nottingham panel.

I have a mortgage with Santander for my property in South Hornchurch. Conveyancing has been completed months ago. Should I wish to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Santander?

Santander must be informed of your intention prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Santander’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Santander 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 Santander directly. You need not do this via a Santander conveyancing panel lawyer.

After what seems like an age I have had an offer on a maisonette in South Hornchurch accepted, but there is a chain. The vendors have placed an offer on a property, but it’s not yet agreed to, and are looking at other flats in the pipeline. I have chosen a high street conveyancing solicitor in South Hornchurch. What do I do now? When do I get the mortgage application with Principality started?

It is normal to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (home loan application is approx £1k, then survey, South Hornchurch conveyancing search costs, etc). First, you must ensure that your property lawyer is on the Principality conveyancing panel. Concerning the next phase this very much dictated by the circumstances of your transaction, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. In a hot market the majority of buyers would apply for the mortgage with Principality and pay for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they request their lawyer to proceed with the conveyancing in South Hornchurch.

I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and identified one close by in South Hornchurch I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in South Hornchurch suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?

If you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you could ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.

I have just started marketing my basement apartment in South Hornchurch. Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon, but I have recently received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is clear the maintenance contribution as normal as all rents and service charges will be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Having spent years of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in South Hornchurch. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a South Hornchurch conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a South Hornchurch flat is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 57.5 years.

My partner and I soon to complete on the purchase a house in South Hornchurch but as a result of damage from the recent storms I have agreed reparation from the owner of four thousand pounds taking the form of a adjustment in the price. I had intended this to be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process however my bank will not agree to this. Should they have been approached?

The property lawyer being on a bank approved list is required to disclose to the mortgage company of any amendments to the purchase price. In the event that you did not allow your property lawyer to disclose the price change to your lender then they would need to disinstructing themselves from representing you and the lender.