I am helping my sister sell her property in Victoria Park. Does the conveyancer order the EPC or it is for me to see to?

Following the abolition of Home Information Packs, energy performance certificates was left as a required element of selling a house. An energy performance certificate must be to hand before the property is advertised. It is not as aspect of the sale process that lawyers ordinarily organise. Where you are instructing a Victoria Park conveyancing solicitor they may be able to arrange EPC’s given their relationships with reputable Victoria Park accredited person

I am the sole recipient of my late father’s will with all property in now in my sole name, including the my former home in Victoria Park. The Victoria Park property was put into my name in April. I now wish to sell up. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', meaning my proprietorship will be considered the same way as though I had purchased the property in April. Is the property unsalable for six months?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook mandates conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you might be caught by that. Most lenders would take a practical view as this provision is chiefly there to pick up on the purchase and immediately sell or the wholesaling and assigning of property.

It is not clear whether my bank obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called into my local Victoria Park building society branch on numerous occasions and was informed it wasn't an issue and they would lend. My Victoria Park conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they refuse to lend in accordance with their published requirements. Who do I believe?

The conveyancing practitioner has to follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook section two specifications for your bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.

I used Action Conveyancing several years past for my conveyancing in Victoria Park. I now require my file but the law firm has closed. What do I do?

Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Victoria Park of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I decided to have a survey carried out on a house in Victoria Park ahead of retaining solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the house. The surveyor has said that some banks tend not grant a loan on a flying freehold home.

It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to call us we can look into this further via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Victoria Park. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Victoria Park especially if they are familiar with such properties in Victoria Park.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Victoria Park with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Victoria Park can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers’ representatives.
If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved. A minority of Victoria Park leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors. The majority of freeholders or managing agents in Victoria Park charge for providing management packs for a leasehold home. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Victoria Park. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Victoria Park home move. If a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

I inherited a garden flat in Victoria Park, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding properties in Victoria Park with an extended lease are worth £175,000. The ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2082

With 58 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £23,800 and £27,400 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

I've found a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Victoria Park. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Victoria Park are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Victoria Park in which case you should be looking for a Victoria Park conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the freeholder’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.