My son-in-law is about to exchange on a new build apartment in Colindale with a mortgage from Yorkshire BS. His solicitor has advised him of a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?

The form is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when asked. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

My home in Colindale is up for sale and I have a buyer. Will the conveyancer need to be required to be on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently in recent years.

I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £305k and found one close by in Colindale I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 52 years on the lease. There is not much else in Colindale in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?

If you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you could ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.

How do I locate a Colindale law firm on the Godiva Mortgages Ltd conveyancing panel? I drive a motor bike and am prepared to travel upto 20miles to meet the lawyer.

Feel free to make use of the facility on this website. Please pick a mortgage company and your location and you will see a number of Colindale conveyancing lawyers locally. We have listed some Colindale conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can telephone them to verify if they are on the Godiva Mortgages Ltd member panel

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Colindale. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Colindale ?

Most houses in Colindale are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Colindale in which case you should be looking for a Colindale conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor should appraise you on the various issues.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a Colindale conveyancing firm to help?

if there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to calculate the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Colindale residence is 27B Hillside in February 2010. the resulting premium, all other aspects of the valuation having been agreed between the parties was set at £8,250 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 70.25 years.