The Banstead conveyancing firm that I recently instructed on my house acquisition in Banstead have without warning shut down. They were on acting for me because I had to have a firm on the Principality conveyancing panel and my preferred Banstead lawyer was not. I wrote them a cheque for two hundred pounds in advance. What should be my next steps?

If you have an estate agent involved then let them know immediately so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Hopefully they will 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 Principality 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.

Should commercial conveyancing searches reveal planned roadworks that could impact a commercial site in Banstead?

Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Banstead will conduct a SiteSolutions Highways report as it reduces the time that conveyancers expend in looking into accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Banstead. The search result sets out 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 Banstead.

For every commercial conveyancing transaction in Banstead it is critical to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been dealt with adequately can result in delays to Banstead commercial conveyancing transactions as well as pose a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not carried out for residential conveyancing in Banstead.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in Banstead?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Banstead. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

I am buying my first flat in Banstead with a loan from Godiva Mortgages Ltd. The builders would not budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The property agent told me not inform my lawyer about this deal as it will jeopardize my loan 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.

Notwithstanding our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in negotiating a lease extension in Banstead. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to decide the price.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Banstead 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 affected 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 60.43 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Banstead what are the most frequent lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in Banstead is not unique. Most leases are drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.

You will encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Lloyds TSB Bank, The Mortgage Works, and Barclays Direct all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.