I am looking to buy a flat and require a conveyancing solicitor in Ashtead who is on the Barnsley Building Society conveyancing. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a firm?

Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Barnsley Building Society in certain locations such as Ashtead. We dont recommend any particular firm.

I am purchasing my first flat in Ashtead benefiting from help to buy. The sellers refused to move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The property agent suggested that I not reveal to my solicitor about the extras as it could impact my mortgage with the bank. 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.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and identified one round the corner in Ashtead I like with a park and station nearby, however it only has 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Ashtead for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you could ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.

In what way can the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 affect my business property in Ashtead and how can you help?

The particular law that you refer to affords a safeguard to business lessees, granting the a statutory right to apply to court for a renewal tenancy and remain in occupation when the lease reaches an end. There are limited grounds that a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are complicated. We are happy to direct you to commercial conveyancing practices who use the act for protection and handle your commercial conveyancing in Ashtead

All being well we will complete our sale of a £475,000 maisonette in Ashtead next Wednesday. The landlords agents has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Ashtead?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Ashtead conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

Answering pre-contract enquiries Where consent is required before sale in Ashtead Copies of the building insurance and schedule Deeds of covenant upon sale Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Ashtead leasehold property is £350. For Ashtead conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply answers.

Having spent months of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Ashtead. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

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

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Ashtead premises is 33 The Maisonettes Alberta Avenue in June 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of a new lease be the sum of £20,680 (Twenty Thousand six hundred and eighty pounds). This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 60.43 years.