My mortgage broker has asked me for my South Ockendon law firm’s panel reference for the Nat West conveyancing panel. Can you suggest how I obtain this. I have contacted my local South Ockendon branch but they cant find it on their system.

You are best placed to get this information from your South Ockendon conveyancing practitioner . They maintain a central record lender panel numbers.

My aunt passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in South Ockendon. The house had a relatively small loan remaining of approximately £5k. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Bank of Ireland, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?

If you plan to refinance then Bank of Ireland will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Bank of Ireland mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.

We are planning on selling our home in South Ockendon and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was built land that was not decontaminated. A high street South Ockendon lawyer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the buyers are using a nationwide conveyancing outfit rather than a conveyancing solicitor in South Ockendon. We have lived in South Ockendon for many years we know of no issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to obtain confirmation that there is no issue.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You should check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same sickness)

I work for a long established estate agent office in South Ockendon where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local South Ockendon conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

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

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the price.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a South Ockendon premises 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 affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 57.5 years.

Are South Ockendon conveyancing solicitors under an obligation to the Law Society to issue transparent conveyancing costs?

Inbuilt into the Solicitors Code of Conduct are specific rules and regulations as to how the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) allow solicitors to publicise their fees to clients.The Law Society have a practice note giving advice on how to publicise transparent charges to avoid breaching any such rule. Practice notes are not legal advice issued by the Law Society and is not intended as the only standard of good practice a conveyancing solicitor should adhere to. The Practice Note does, however, constitute the Law Society’s view of acceptable practice for publicising conveyancing charges, and accordingly it’s a recommended read for any solicitor or conveyancer in South Ockendon or beyond.