Our conveyancer has uncovered a a problem with the lease for the apartment we are buying in Brent Park. The other side have suggested title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will pay for it. Our solicitor has advised that he must be satisfied that the bank is happy with this solution. Are we the client or is the mortgage company ?

The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the bank are the client. Your solicitor must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the lender can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your conveyancer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.

Just had an offer accepted on a new build flat in Brent Park. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Set out below are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Brent Park

Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? 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.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and found one close by in Brent Park I like with amenity areas and station nearby, however it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Brent Park in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?

If you need a mortgage that many years will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you may ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.

Hoping to buy a property located in Brent Park and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Brent Park. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Brent Park area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?

Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Brent Park. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Brent Park. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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. It is an essential part 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).

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a Brent Park conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to make a decision on the sum to be paid.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Brent Park property is 7 Craven Park in June 2009. The tribunal considered it unnecessary to value the garage as an independent investment or to value each flat separately, providing that the marriage value calculation uses only the participating flats. Accordingly, the price determined by the Tribunal was £41,140 This case affected 5 flats. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 73.14 years.