A relative informed me that in buying a property in Ickenham there could be various restrictions as to what one can do in terms of external changes to the property. Is this right?

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

I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in Ickenham. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their solicitor. I paid an upfront payment of £200. A few days later, the property lawyer contacted me to say that they were not on the TSB conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the TSB panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

Having read lots of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Ickenham solicitor - who is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?

Lloyds will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Lloyds will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Ickenham postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Lloyds, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Ickenham.

I have todaydiscovered that Arc property Solicitors have closed. They conducted my conveyancing in Ickenham for a purchase of a freehold house 10 months ago. How can I establish that the property is in my name in the name of the former proprietor?

The quickest method to check if the property is registered to you, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Ickenham conveyancing specialists.

How does conveyancing in Ickenham differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build property in Ickenham contact us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is ready to move into. This is because developers in Ickenham tend to acquire the land, 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 conveyancers 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Ickenham or who has acted in the same development.

I opted to have a survey completed on a house in Ickenham in advance of appointing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. Our surveyor has said that some banks will not issue a loan on such a premises.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different instructions from Nationwide. If you contact us we can investigate further with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Ickenham. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Ickenham. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Ickenham - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I own a basement flat in Ickenham. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum due for the purchase of the freehold?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Ickenham premises is Flat 72 Queens Walk in January 2013. The Tribunals calculated the premium payable to be £22,090. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 53.26 years.