My fiance and I are looking to buy a flat in West Wickham and have appointed a West Wickham conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Bank of Ireland have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our West Wickham conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?

Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own West Wickham solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.

Do I need to pay for insurance to address the risk of chancel repairs when purchasing a house in West Wickham?

Unless a previous acquisition of the property took place post 12 October 2013 you could take it that lawyers conducting conveyancing in West Wickham to remain encouraging a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.

How does conveyancing in West Wickham differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in West Wickham contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is finished. This is because developers in West Wickham usually purchase the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in West Wickham or who has acted in the same development.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and identified one close by in West Wickham I like with a park and railway links nearby, the downside is that it only has 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in West Wickham suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?

If you require a home loan the shortness of the lease may be an issue. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a West Wickham conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a West Wickham conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggest that you speak with several firms including non West Wickham conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions might be helpful:

Can they put you in touch with clients in West Wickham who can give a testimonial? How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a West Wickham conveyancing firm to assist?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a West Wickham conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a West Wickham premises is 26 Manor Road in July 2010. the Tribunal decided that price to be paid for the freehold was £12,420 This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 76.75 and 88.83.