My wife and I are purchasing a newly built flat in South Oxhey and my conveyancer is advising me that she is duty bound to the lender to reveal incentives from the seller. I am on a tight deadline to exchange contracts and I don't want to prolong deal. Is my lawyer right?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancer. A precondition to being on a lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

We are purchasing a flat and need a conveyancing solicitor in South Oxhey who is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. Can you recommend a local conveyancing firm?

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

My aunt passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in South Oxhey. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £4500. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to TSB, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?

Given you intend to re-mortgage then TSB will require that you use a conveyancer on the TSB 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 TSB 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 TSB mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.

I am assisting my mother sell her property in South Oxhey. Does the conveyancer order the energy assessment or should I organise this?

Following the demise of HIPs, energy assessments remained a required part of moving property. An energy performance certificate needs to be commissioned in advance of the property being advertised. This is not as aspect of the sale process that conveyancers ordinarily arrange. Where you are instructing a South Oxhey conveyancing solicitor they may help arrange energy assessments given their contacts with long established South Oxhey assessors

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in South Oxhey. I have a mortgage offer with Leeds Building Society. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Leeds Building Society, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel.

I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in South Oxhey. My financial adviser suggested a conveyancing practitioner. I paid an advanced payment of £225. A couple of days later, the lawyer contacted me to say that they were not on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Kent Reliance panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my lease in South Oxhey. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering South Oxhey.

I have given up seeking a lease extension in South Oxhey. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a South Oxhey property is Flats 8, 11 and 15 Craigmore Court 46 Murray Road in December 2013. The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenant of Flat 8 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,438 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee . The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenants of Flat 11 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,791 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee. The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenant of Flat 15 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,638 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee . This case was in relation to 3 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 71 years.