My lawyer has uncovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the flat we are buying in Barking. The other side have put forward defective title insurance as a solution. We are happy with insurance and will pay for it. Our solicitor has advised that he must ensure that the lender is content with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the mortgage company ?

Even though you have a mortgage offer from the mortgage company does not mean to say that the property will meet their specifications for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. You and the bank are the client. The appropriate lender specifications must be adhered to.

Finally the sale completed on my house in Barking last April but my buyer keeps Skype messaging me to moan that their conveyancer needs to hear from mylawyer. What should have happened following completion?

After completion of your disposal your lawyer is committed to send the transfer deeds and all supplemental paperwork to the buyer’s conveyancer. If applicable, your conveyancer must also confirm that the home loan has been repaid to the buyers solicitors. There is unlikely to be post completion tasks unique to conveyancing in Barking.

Am I best advised to instruct a Barking conveyancing practitioner in close proximity to the house I am purchasing? We have a good friend who can execute the conveyancing but her office is approximately 350kilometers away.

The primary upside of using a local Barking conveyancing practice is that you can pop in to sign paperwork, hand in your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Barking know how is a plus. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who instructed your friend and in the main were content that must trump using an unknown Barking conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being round the corner.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Barking conveyancing firm to help?

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

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Barking premises is 240 Strone Road in January 2014. the tribunal held that the price to be paid for the freehold interest was£23,538 of which£13,017 is attributable to the ground floor flat and £10,521 to the
first floor flat. This case affected 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 65.5 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Barking what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Barking. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property Insurance obligations

You will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Chelsea Building Society, and TSB all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

How does one remove a deceased person's name from the title deeds for a property in Barking?

Where a Barking property is jointly owned and one of the proprietors passes away, their name will not immediately be removed from the title deeds. It is not necessary to remove their name as when it comes to a sale your conveyancer would just need to evidence as to the reason the other owner is not included in the contract, ordinarily this is in the form of the probate documents.

With a view to making things simpler in the future you may apply to have the deceased party removed from the title register by applying to HMLR with evidence of the death. There is no land registry fee payable.