Is there a reason to appoint a East London conveyancing company given that online alternatives are so much cheaper?

To take your time to find shop around for conveyancing costs in East London and you should seek a competitive estimate but don’t expend your energy hunting for the lowest priced East London conveyancer. Identifying the right conveyancer can be the difference between a smooth and a frustrating house move. You need to ensure that you have expert guidance from a trusted lawyer. Emails can't be as helpful as a phone call and can never replicate a one to one meeting. The firms that we work with will allocate you a qualified and trusted conveyancing solicitor that will handle your conveyancing from from the outset to completion, giving the sort of hand holding that you are unlikely to received from an online conveyancer. He or She will inform you on any developments making sure that you are ensuring that you are updated at regular intervals. Should it ever be necessary to phone the firm you will know who to ask for and they will ensure you're not left wondering what's going on.

The East London conveyancing firm that just started acting on my house acquisition in East London have suddenly shut down. I only went with them because I had to have a solicitor on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel and my family East London lawyer was not. I cut them a cheque for £250 in advance. What do I do now?

If you have an estate agent involved then let them know straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers should be in a position to assist.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. East London is the location of the property. Can you offer any opinion?

Flying freeholds in East London are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in East London you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in East London may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in East London with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in East London can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers’ lawyers.
Some East London leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers. Many landlords or managing agents in East London charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in East London. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy process and slows down many a East London home move. If a reissued share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

I have given up trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in East London. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to calculate the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a East London premises is 20 Avonwick Road in July 2013. The Tribunal was dealing with an application under Section 26 of the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 for a determination of the freehold value of the property. It was concluded that the price to be paid was Fifteen Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy (£15,970) divided as to £8,200 for Flat 20 and £7,770 for Flat 20A This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 73.26 years.

I am in the process of buying my 1st house in East London. Conveyancing lawyer already chosen. The financial consultant advised that a survey is not needed as the property was only constructed in 1997.

At the very least you should order a Home Buyer's Report. As the premises is over 10 years old the property will not come with a warranty, so you don't want to take a risk. Where a property of this age shows no signs of problems a Home Buyer's report may suffice. They will highlight any apparent problems and suggest additional investigation if relevant. Where there are any indications of problems seek a full structural survey.