My wife and I are hoping to purchase a flat in High Holborn and are in fact using a High Holborn conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Godiva Mortgages Ltd have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our High Holborn solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own High Holborn solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

I'm purchasing a new build house in High Holborn with a loan from Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. The builders would not budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent suggested that I not to tell my lawyer about the side-deal as it will put at risk my loan with the lender. 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.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in High Holborn I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in High Holborn for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?

If you require a mortgage that many years may be an issue. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.

What does commercial conveyancing in High Holborn cover?

Commercial conveyancing in High Holborn covers a wide array of advice, supplied by qualified solicitors, relating to business property. For example, this area of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more usually, the transfer of existing business tenancies or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial loans and the termination of leases.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold flat in High Holborn. Conveyancing and Britannia mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in High Holborn who acted for me is not around. Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a High Holborn conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I inherited a ground-floor 1950’s flat in High Holborn. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium due for a lease extension?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to arrive at the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a High Holborn flat is Flat 89 Trinity Court Grays Inn Road in February 2013. the Tribunal found that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 should be £36,229. This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 66.8 years.