My partner and I are acquiring a brand new duplex in Bedford Park and my solicitor is telling me that she is duty bound to the mortgage company to reveal incentives from the builder. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange contracts and my preference is not to delay deal. Is my lawyer right?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your solicitor. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in two weeks back in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Bedford Park is where the house is located. Can you offer any opinion?

Flying freeholds in Bedford Park are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Bedford Park you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Bedford Park may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.

Are there any apps to help search for a Bedford Park solicitor on the Alliance & Leicester conveyancing panel? I am a keen cyclist and am happy to travel upto 20kilometers to meet the conveyancer.

You can use the search on this website. Please pick a mortgage company and your location and you will see a number of Bedford Park conveyancing lawyers locally. We have listed some Bedford Park conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can telephone them to check whether they are on the Alliance & Leicester approved list

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Bedford Park. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

After years of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Bedford Park. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Bedford Park conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Bedford Park residence is 169 Southfield Road in September 2013. the tribunal decided that the premium to be paid in respect of the collective enfranchisement should be £51,203 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 64.64 years.

Our conveyancing in Bedford Park completes on Friday, but the couple I am purchasing from wants to move out on the Saturday at 2pm. Should I agree to such a idea?

You can't complete on a Saturday because the bank systems are not operating.