My partner and I are planning to buy a home in Avery Hill and have instructed a Avery Hill conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. National Westminster Bank have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Avery Hill lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?

If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Avery Hill lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.

It has been three months since my purchase conveyancing in Avery Hill completed. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

How does conveyancing in Avery Hill differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in Avery Hill come to us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is constructed. This is because developers in Avery Hill tend to acquire the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Avery Hill or who has acted in the same development.

I have been on the look out for a flat up to £235,500 and identified one round the corner in Avery Hill I like with amenity areas and transport links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 51 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Avery Hill in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?

Should you need a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be problematic. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you could request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.

Planning to complete next month on a leasehold property in Avery Hill. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Avery Hill should include some of the following:

How long the lease is. You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years Responsibility for maintaining the window frames Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice? Alterations to the property The total extent of the demise. This may be the apartment itself but may include a roof area or basement if relevant.

I have given up seeking a lease extension in Avery Hill. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Where there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to decide the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Avery Hill residence is 103a Footscray Road in January 2014. The tribunal determines that the premium payable for the extended lease should be £34,500 according to the expert witness valuation calculation This case affected 1 flat.