Should lawyers ask for money on account for my conveyancing in West Kensington?

If you are buying a property in West Kensington your solicitor will ask you put them with funds to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. This will be the total of the cost of the Local Authority Search. When the deposit is as part of the sale price then this should be asked for immediately prior to exchange of contracts. The final balance that is needed will be payable shortly before completion.

I have a 4 bedroom Edwardian house in West Kensington. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Godiva Mortgages Ltd. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You need to assess 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 West Kensington and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also question the position with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the conveyancing.

Just had an offer accepted on a new build apartment in West Kensington. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.

Set out below is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in West Kensington

Please supply a car parking plan. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company?

Having spent months of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in West Kensington. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a West Kensington conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a West Kensington residence is 93 Oakwood Court in June 2010. the LVT determined that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £492,083, This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 37.79 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in West Kensington what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in West Kensington is not unique. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and TSB all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Sixweeks into a sale of a flat in West Kensington. Conveyancing is fine but we are being charged an extortionate amount from the freeholder. So far we have forked out £250 for a leasehold management pack and then a further £134.40 for answers to queries raised by the purchaser's property lawyer.

Neither you or your property lawyer will have any control over the level of the charges for this information but the typical costs for the information for West Kensington leasehold property is £355. When it comes to West Kensington conveyancing sales it is customary for the owner to pay for these costs. The freeholder or their agents are not duty bound to address such questions although many will agree to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices out of proportion to the work involved. Regretfully there is no legislation that mandates set charges for administrative tasks. Nor is there any legal time limit by which they are required to supply answers.