We just had an offer accepted to buy with Darlington Building Society. I visited a couple of high street practices but cant to find a Swanscombe conveyancing firm on the Darlington Building Society approved list. Could you assist?

Feel free to take advantage of the search tool on this site. Pick the lender and type Swanscombe or your preferred area and you will see a number of lawyer offices in Swanscombe or by proximity to you.

A friend suggested that if I am buying in Swanscombe I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?

A search of this type is occasionally included in the estimate for your Swanscombe conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out important information about Swanscombe around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Swanscombe Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Swanscombe.

I am buying a new build apartment in Swanscombe. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.

Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Swanscombe

Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. 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. Please supply a car parking plan. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified.

How does the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 impact my business offices in Swanscombe and how can your lawyers assist?

The 1954 Act affords protection to commercial tenants, granting the right to make a request to court for a new lease and remain in occupation when the lease reaches an end. There are limited grounds where a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are involved. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Swanscombe is one of the hundreds of areas of the UK in which the firms we work with have offices

I own a leasehold flat in Swanscombe. Conveyancing was finalised in 2011. I have read on numerous consumer forums that I should not allow the lease length fall too short. Is this correct?

Swanscombe leasehold properties are for a prescribed term - usually just under one hundred years when they are first granted. However a significant appartments in Swanscombe were constructed or converted in the 60’s and so such leases now have under eighty years unexpired. That may seem like a long time however Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage companies tend to need leases to have a minimum of seventy five years remaining to adequate security. This means that when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are approaching seventy five years. To increase your property value you should be considering whether or not to extend your lease well in advance of selling the property. There are also strong financial reasons to doing so before the lease hits 80 years as when the lease is less than eighty years the amount to be paid to extend starts to get a lot more expensive.