We are buying a flat and need a conveyancing solicitor in South Ockendon who is on the Santander approved panel. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a solicitor?

Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Santander . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in South Ockendon.

I just bought a flat at auction in South Ockendon. Conveyancing is required. What is next?

Given that you have now to all intents and purposes signed on the dotted line you now have to find a conveyancing lawyer as a matter of priority as you are facing a pending a fixed date to complete the deal. All auction property will ordinarily have a corresponding auction set of papers. This will likely include evidence of title and search results. If you have purchased leasehold property the legal papers should include a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing paperwork pertinent to a leasehold property. You need to give this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor as soon as possible. You also need to ensure that that you have the requisite funding in order to complete the transaction on the set completion date.

A relative advised me that in buying a property in South Ockendon there may be a number of restrictions affecting the ability to carry out external changes to a property. Is this right?

We are aware of a number of properties in South Ockendon which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external changes. Part of the conveyancing in South Ockendon should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

I am the single beneficiary of my late grandmother’s will and I have everything in my name now, including the my former home in South Ockendon. The South Ockendon property was put into my name in November. I now wish to sell up. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', which means that my property ownership may be considered the same way as if I'd bought the property in November. Do I have to wait 6 months to sell?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook obliges conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you may be caught by that. Most mortgage companies would take a practical view as this clause is principally there to identify the purchase and immediately sell or the flipping of property.

My colleague recommended that where I am buying in South Ockendon I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

A search of this type is usually included in the estimate for your South Ockendon conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about South Ockendon around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning South Ockendon.

I opted to have a survey done on a house in South Ockendon in advance of appointing lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. The surveyor advised that some lenders will refuse to grant a loan on a flying freehold property.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different instructions from Nationwide. If you contact us we can look into this further with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in South Ockendon. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in South Ockendon to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in South Ockendon. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a South Ockendon conveyancing firm to represent me?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a South Ockendon conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a South Ockendon residence 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 number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 57.5 years.