My wife and I are purchasing a brand new duplex in Surrey Quays and my lawyer is informing me that she has to the mortgage company to reveal incentives from the seller. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange and my preference is not to prolong matters. Is my lawyer right?

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

My husband and I decided to purchase a newbuild flat in Surrey Quays with a loan from Lloyds TSB Bank.We have a Surrey Quays conveyancing solicitor but Lloyds TSB Bank advised that his firm is not listed on their approved list of firms. we are left little option but to use a Lloyds TSB Bank panel solicitor or keep our high street solicitor and fork out for a Lloyds TSB Bank panel lawyer to act for them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that Lloyds TSB Bank use our lawyer?

Unfortunately,no. The loan offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, a common one being that lawyers needs to be on the Lloyds TSB Bank solicitor panel. in the past, most mortgage companies had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could find one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Lloyds TSB Bank

Me and my brother own a semi-detached Victorian property in Surrey Quays. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Aldermore. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Surrey Quays and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also question the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.

I am four weeks into a freehold purchase having been directed to a firm by the selling agent to handle our conveyancing in Surrey Quays. We are not happy. Could you you assist me in finding new conveyancers?

They would need to be really poor to suggest diss instructing them. Has the mortgage offer been generated? In the event that it has you will need to make them aware of the new lawyer and ensure the loan are re-issued. The conveyancer needs to be on the banks approved list to avoid escalating fees and frustration. That should be your first question of the new lawyers. The find a solicitor tool can assist you in finding a lender approved solicitor for your conveyancing in Surrey Quays

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Surrey Quays. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Surrey Quays - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I inherited a second floor flat in Surrey Quays. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum due for the purchase of the freehold?

if there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the LVT to calculate the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Surrey Quays property is 12, 14 & 16 Hull Close in May 2010. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the acquisition of the freehold to the subject premises was the sum of £18,300 This case affected 3 flats. The unexpired lease term was 101.61 years.