We're in Belvedere, First timers purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Nationwide , and our lawyer is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?

The fact that your lawyer is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancing practitioner should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.

We are buying a house and the conveyancer has referenced Chancel Repair to which the property may be liable as it falls into the area of such a church. She has mentioned insurance. Is this really warranted for conveyancing in Belvedere

Unless a prior purchase of the property completed post 12 October 2013 you may expect conveyancing practitioners carrying out conveyancing in Belvedere to remain recommending a chancel search and or chancel repair liability policy.

Just had an offer accepted on a new build apartment in Belvedere. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.

Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Belvedere

Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. Please confirm the Lease plans are architect prepared.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Belvedere. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

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

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Belvedere conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Belvedere property is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case related to 13 flats. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 76 years.

Please set a few of distinct advantages to using a local solicitor in Belvedere

Many purchasers and sellers in Belvedere prefer a local solicitor so that they can pop into the firm’s offices just in case they have problems, and to execute mortgage deeds rather taking the chance in relying on the post.

One could argue that there is a slight edge in opting for a conveyancer nearby to a house you are purchasing, due to the knowledge of the locality and potential local concerns - however this is debatable. The majority of conveyancers carry out their work via the internet and could be anywhere in the world.