As someone unfamiliar with conveyancing in West Smithfield what’s your top tip you can give me concerning the legal transfer of property in West Smithfield

You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in West Smithfield and elsewhere in London is an adversarial experience. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there exists an abundance of opportunity for friction between you and others involved in the ownership transfer. For instance, the seller, selling agent and even potentially your bank. Selecting a law firm for your conveyancing in West Smithfield is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE person in the transaction whose interest is to look after your legal interests and to keep you safe.

On occasion a third party with a vested interest will attempt to convince you that you should follow their advice. As an example, the selling agent may claim to be helping by suggesting your conveyancer is dragging his heels. Or your mortgage broker may tell you to do something that is against your lawyers advice. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties when it comes to the legal transfer of property.

Do commercial conveyancing searches disclose planned roadworks that may affect a commercial land in West Smithfield?

Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in West Smithfield will perform a SiteSolutions Highways report as it dramatically cuts the time that conveyancers expend in investigating accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in West Smithfield. The report provides definitive data on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in West Smithfield.

For every commercial conveyancing transaction in West Smithfield it is critical to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. The absence of identifying developments where adoption procedures have not been addressed adequately could cause delays to West Smithfield commercial conveyancing transactions as well as present a risk to future plans for the site. These searches are not conducted for residential conveyancing in West Smithfield.

I am buying a new build house in West Smithfield with a mortgage from Chelsea Building Society. The builders would not budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The sale representative told me not reveal to my solicitor about this side-deal as it could adversely affect my mortgage with the lender. Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

My brother has recommend that I instruct his lawyers for conveyancing in West Smithfield. Should I choose my own conveyancer?

There are no two ways about it the best way to find a conveyancing solicitor is to seek recommendations from friends or family who have actually previously instructed the conveyancer that you are considering.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in West Smithfield with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in West Smithfield can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a West Smithfield home move. Where a new share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible. You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in West Smithfield. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the price.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a West Smithfield flat is Flat 89 Trinity Court Grays Inn Road in February 2013. the Tribunal found that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 should be £36,229. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 66.8 years.