I am buying an apartment in Basinghall. My Solicitor is not on the lender conveyancing panel. Is it possible for me to use my Basinghall conveyancing solicitor even though they are excluded from the bank panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?

One must instruct a solicitor to complete the formalities if you require a loan to buy your property. They will carry out all the necessary due diligence on the property, ensuring that you will be registered as proprietor and ensure that all the required mortgage documentation is dealt with. One could instruct a Basinghall conveyancing practitioner of your choosing. Nevertheless, if the property lawyer appointed is not a member of the bank approved list supplemental charges will be incurred as separate legal representation will be required by them. Bank panel applications may be submitted, so where your conveyancer has not previously sought membership they should take the opportunity to apply.

Can you clarify what the consequences are if my solicitor is expelled from the Aldermore Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Basinghall?

The first thing to point out is that, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.

I bought my house on 2 August and my personal details are still not on the land registry website. Need I be worried? My conveyancing solicitor in Basinghall said it should be recorded inside ten days. Are transfers in Basinghall uniquely lengthy to register?

As far as conveyancing in Basinghall is concerned, registration is no quicker or slower than anywhere else in the country. Rather than based on location, timeframes can vary subject to who lodges the application, whether there are errors and if the Land registry must send notices to any 3rd persons or bodies. At present in the region of 80% of such applications are fully dealt with in less than three weeks but occasionally there can be protracted delays. Historically registration occurs once the new owner has moved in to the property thus 'speed' is not always an essential issue but if it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your lawyers can contact the land registry and explain the circumstances.

I am buying my first flat in Basinghall with a mortgage from Barclays Direct. The builders would not move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent suggested that I not disclose to my lawyer about the deal as it could impact my mortgage with Barclays Direct. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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.

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Basinghall where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Basinghall conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

I inherited a ground floor flat in Basinghall. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium due for a lease extension?

Where there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement 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 First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Basinghall property is 137 & 139 Haberdasher Street in December 2013. The Tribunal determines in accordance with section 48 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease for each Property should be £12,350.00. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 72.39 years.