What is the first thing I need to know regarding purchase conveyancing in Catford?

Not many law firms or advisers will tell you this but conveyancing in Catford or throughout England and Wales is an adversarial process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there is an abundance of opportunity for confrontation between you and other parties involved in the ownership transfer. E.g., the seller, estate agent and on occasion your mortgage company. Selecting a law firm for your conveyancing in Catford is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY person in the legal process whose role it is to act in your best interests and to protect you.

On occasion a potential adversary will try and persuade you that it is in your interests to do things their way. For instance, the selling agent may claim to be assisting by suggesting your solicitor is slow. Or your mortgage broker may advise you to do take action that is against your lawyers recommendation. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the home moving process.

Is there a search tool that I can use to check that the solicitor conducting my conveyancing in Catford is on the mortgage lender’sconveyancing panel? I am looking to avoid the situation of having one lawyer for me and one for HSBC Bank thus paying £175.00 in supplemental conveyancing costs.

You should make use of the find a conveyancing panel solicitor tool on this page. Please choose the mortgage company and type ‘Catford’ or your preferred area and you will be presented with a number of lawyer based in Catford or nearest you.

I'm purchasing my first flat in Catford with a mortgage from Virgin Money. The developers refused to budge the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent advised me not reveal to my conveyancer about this extras as it could jeopardize my mortgage with Virgin Money. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

How easy is it to use your search app to select a conveyancing practitioner in Catford on the panel for my bank?

Step one is to select a bank such as Santander, Bank of Scotland or Barclays Direct then choose your preferred area a common one being Catford. Conveyancing firms in Catford and further afield will then be shown.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Catford which have about fifty years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Catford is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Catford conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such issues? Can you recommend a Catford conveyancing firm to help?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Catford residence is 44 Elmer Road in January 2013. The Tribunal dacied that amount to be paid by the Leaseholders for the Landlords freehold reversion was £12,951 as at the valuation date (20" September 2012).This matter was referred back to the Bromley County Court to deal with costs, fees and any other outstanding matters. This case related to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 74.25 years.