I am hoping to receive a offer of a home loan from Santander. I intend to enlist the help of a Licensed Conveyancer in Birchington. Does the Santander Solicitor panel allow for Licensed Conveyancers?

The Santander conveyancing panel is, like many other lenders, associated to the Council or Mortgage Lenders or BSA, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

As a FTB what is the most important number one tip you can give me regarding purchase conveyancing in Birchington?

Not many law firms or advisers will tell you this but conveyancing in Birchington and elsewhere in England and Wales is an adversarial experience. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists lots of opportunity for friction between you and other parties involved in the transaction. For example, the vendor, estate agent and sometimes a lender. Choosing a law firm for your conveyancing in Birchington an important selection as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE person in the transaction whose interest is to protect your best interests and to keep you safe.

We are witnessing a distinct ongoing adversarial element to conveyancing- someone must be blamed for the process taking so long. You your first instinct should be to trust your lawyer ahead of the other parties when it comes to the legal assignment of property.

Are the BSA intent on creating a online directory to to identify firms on the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society conveyancing panel for example in Birchington?

Lexsure has not been advised of any intention on the part of the BSA to promote such a register.

Do I need to pay for insurance to address the risk of chancel repairs when purchasing a house in Birchington?

Unless a prior purchase of the property took place post 12 October 2013 you can take it that solicitors conducting conveyancing in Birchington to remain recommending a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

I work for a busy estate agent office in Birchington where we see a few flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Birchington conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process 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. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, 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 buyer.

I am the registered owner of a split level flat in Birchington, conveyancing was carried out February 2004. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Birchington with over 90 years remaining are worth £260,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease terminates on 21st October 2100

With 75 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.