It is 10 years ago since I bought my house in Greenhithe. Conveyancing lawyers have just been retained on the sale but I can't track down my deeds. Is this a problem?

Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be with your mortgage company or they may be in the possession of the lawyers who handled your purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining current official copies of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Greenhithe involves registered property but in the rare situation where your property is unregistered it is more problematic but is resolvable.

My wife and I are buying a flat in Greenhithe. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a solicitor? At some point we will need to send money into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our money?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

A relative informed me that in purchasing a property in Greenhithe there may be a number of restrictions affecting the ability to carry out external changes to a property. Is this right?

We are aware of anumerous of properties in Greenhithe which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Greenhithe should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

I am the single beneficiary of my late grandmother’s estate with all property in now in my sole name, including the my former home in Greenhithe. The Greenhithe property was put into my name in August. I plan to dispose of the property. I understand that there is a CML six month 'rule', meaning my proprietorship may be treated the same way as though I had purchased the property in August. Do I have to wait 6 months to sell?

The CML handbook requires solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you could be caught by that. How practical a view mortgage companies take of it, depend on the mortgage company as this obligation primarily exists to identify subsales or the quick reselling of property.

Have purchased a a detached house in Greenhithe , how long should it take for the Land Registry to record my ownership? My Greenhithe conveyancing solicitor has been painfully slow, so I want to be sure that my ownership is registered.

There is nothing unique when it comes to conveyancing in Greenhithe registration formalities. Rather than based on location, timescales can adjust subject to who lodges the application, whether it is in order and whether the Land registry have to notify any third parties. Currently approximately 80% of submission are completed in less than three weeks but occasionally there can be protracted hold-ups. Registration is effected once the new owner is living at the property therefore an expedited registration is not usually primary concern yet if it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your solicitor can communicate with the Registry to express the reasoning for an expedited registration.

How does conveyancing in Greenhithe differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build premises in Greenhithe come to us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is built. This is because builders in Greenhithe usually acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Greenhithe or who has acted in the same development.

I would like to rent out my leasehold apartment in Greenhithe. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Even though your last Greenhithe conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must obtain consent from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Following years of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Greenhithe. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Greenhithe conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Greenhithe flat is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case affected 13 flats. The unexpired term was 76 years.