My wife and I purchasing a 4 bedroom semi-detached house in Belsize Park. The intention is to carry out a loft conversion at the property.Will legal work on the property involve enquiries to see if these works were previously refused?

Your conveyancer will check the registered title as conveyancing in Belsize Park will on occasion identify restrictions in the title deeds which restrict categories of alterations or require the permission of a 3rd party. Many works call for local authority planning permissions and approval under the building regulations. Many areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or affect extensions. You should check these issues with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.

When it comes to lenders such as Barclays, do Belsize Park solicitors face an annual charge to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are not aware of any mortgage company fees to be on their panel, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.

I have paid off my mortgage with Lloyds. I assume I don't need a Belsize Park conveyancing practitioner on the Lloyds panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?

If you have finished paying off your Lloyds mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Lloyds mortgage from the register. Lloyds, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where Lloyds has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. Lloyds has instructed the Land Registry to do so

Should our conveyancer be raising questions concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Belsize Park.

Flooding is a growing risk for lawyers carrying out conveyancing in Belsize Park. There are those who buy a property in Belsize Park, completely aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical damage, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, suitable insurance cover, or dispose of the premises. Steps can be carried out during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the buyer.

Lawyers are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, but there are a various searches that may be initiated by the purchaser or by their lawyers which can figure out the risks in Belsize Park. The conventional set of property information forms supplied to a buyer’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a standard inquiry of the owner to discover if the premises has suffered from flooding. In the event that the property has been flooded in past which is not notified by the seller, then a purchaser could bring a compensation claim as a result of such an incorrect answer. The purchaser’s solicitors will also commission an enviro search. This should higlight whether there is any known flood risk. If so, further inquiries will need to be made.

I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and identified one near me in Belsize Park I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 61 years on the lease. There is not much else in Belsize Park suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?

If you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.

How do I use the search app to locate a conveyancing practitioner in Belsize Park on the authorised to act for my bank?

First pick a lender such as Accord Mortgages Ltd, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society or TSB then type in your preferred area e.g. Belsize Park. Conveyancing practices in Belsize Park and further afield will then be listed.

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Belsize Park. Before I get started I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Belsize Park - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a Belsize Park conveyancing firm to represent me?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Belsize Park conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Belsize Park residence is First Floor Flat 20 Fitzjohns Avenue in July 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premiums to be paid for new leases in respect of the Raised Ground Floor Flat and the First Floor Flat were to be calculated as: Raised Ground Floor: £765,175.14 First Floor: £601,617.77 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 16.83 and 16.43.