I was referred a lawyer who has given a fee calculation of £1200 for freehold conveyancing in Tooting. I’m hoping to sell a modern detached home for £175,000. This appears expensive. Is it in excess of what I should be paying for conveyancing in Tooting?

The quote is fractionally on the steep side. If you shop around you could get the conveyancing a bit cheaper by perhaps £125. On the other hand, you couldlive to rue choosing an an unknown conveyancer. If is important to enquire the firm can act for your lender. You can employ our comparison tool to find a Tooting conveyancing company on the banks member panel which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Tooting.

My partner and I intend to remortgage our apartment in Tooting with Kent Reliance. We have a son 18 who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this document specific to the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?

First, rest assured that your Kent Reliance conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Kent Reliance. This is solely used to protect Kent Reliance if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Kent Reliance had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.

The Tooting conveyancing solicitors that just started acting on my purchase in Tooting have without warning shut down. I only went with them because I needed a firm on the UBS conveyancing panel and my previous Tooting lawyer was not. I paid them funds in advance. What should be my next steps?

If you have an estate agent involved then let them know immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the UBS conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors may be able to help.

I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in Tooting I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it only has 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Tooting suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?

If you need a home loan that many years may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you may ask them to start the process of the extension 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 solicitor concerning this matter.

I am intending to let out my leasehold apartment in Tooting. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Your lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Tooting do not prevent subletting altogether – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

Having spent years of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Tooting. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Tooting conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Tooting property is 14 Nutwell Street in January 2014. The premium payable for the acquisition of a new lease of the subject premises was in the sum of £30,523 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 62.94 years.