I am buying a house mortgage free in Berrylands. I have been residing for the last twelve years in Berrylands. Conveyancing searches are expensive. Given that I know the road and vicinity very well must I have all the conveyancing searches?

In the absence of a mortgage, then all but one or two of the Berrylands conveyancing searches are optional. Your conveyancer will ’encourage you, perhaps strongly, that you should have searches carried out, but he has a professional duty to take that path of guidance. Do consider; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it will be of relevance to your future purchaser what the searches reveal. On occasion premises with day to day issues can still show up unfavourable search results. A competent conveyancing solicitor in Berrylands will be able to give you some helpful advice in this regard.

We wanted to use a property lawyer in Berrylands for our house purchase. Our broker has since advised us that our mortgage company HSBC Bank won't deal with them. Surely this is unfair competition?

Before the recession most banks had a different appetite for risk. Almost all Berrylands conveyancing firms would have been on most bank panels. The FSA in 2010 carried out a thematic review into mortgage fraud which come to the conclusion: know the conveyancing solicitors dealt with. Consequently, mortgage companies have regularly sought more information from law firms regarding their operations and the individuals who work for them as well as set certain criteria such a completing on a minimum volume of conveyancing. Many Berrylands conveyancing firms that have been excluded from lender panels have Unblemished track record, no complaints and no claims and didn't just 'dabble' in conveyancing. Berrylands is amongst the thousands of locations where the lawyers showing on our search results are members of the panel for HSBC Bank.

Should commercial conveyancing searches reveal proposed roadworks that may impact a commercial estate in Berrylands?

Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Berrylands will order a SiteSolutions Highways report as it reduces the time that conveyancers spend in researching accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Berrylands. The report provides definitive information 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 Berrylands.

For each commercial conveyancing transaction in Berrylands it is critical to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. The absence of identifying developments where adoption procedures have not been dealt with adequately could cause delays to Berrylands commercial conveyancing deals as well as pose a risk to future plans for the site. These searches are not carried out for domestic conveyancing in Berrylands.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £375,000 flat in Berrylands in just under a week. The management company has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Berrylands?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Berrylands conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

Completing pre-exchange enquiries Where consent is required before sale in Berrylands Supplying insurance information Deeds of covenant upon sale Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Berrylands leasehold property is £350. For Berrylands conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide the information.

I am the registered owner of a ground-floor 1950’s flat in Berrylands. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium payable for a lease extension?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to judgment on the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Berrylands premises is Flat D 15 Claremont Gardens in September 2013. TheTribunal determined in accordance with section48 and Schedule13 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease should be fourteen thousand one hundred and eighty seven pounds (£14,187.00) This case was in relation to 1 flat.

When it comes to my conveyancing in Berrylands should I be paying VAT on the following: (1) Land reg fee on purchase (2) Pre - completion search fee (3) SDLT E submission on purchase (4) Bank TT fee

(1) Land reg fee on purchase - No (2) Pre - completion search fees -No, (such conveyancing searches are HMLR ones and means £4 and possibly £2 bankruptcy per name on your mortgage) (3) SDLT E submission on your purchase - There is no VAT on Stamp Duty. However if the firm is charging a stamp duty e-submission fee as part of their services - some Berrylands conveyancers do - that will incur VAT(4) Bank transfer fee - Yes it is for the lawyer's time in submitting the funds this way.