Having sold my house in London last September yet the purchaser is SMS messaging daily to say their solicitor is waiting to hear from mine. What are the post completion sale formalities now that I have sold?

Post completion of your house sale your solicitor is obliged to send the transfer documentation and all additional paperwork to the buyer’s conveyancer. Depending on the transaction, your solicitor must also evidence that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been paid off to the purchasers lawyers. There is unlikely to be post completion formalities just for conveyancing in London.

I am buying a new build flat in London. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.

Here is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in London

Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore.

I decided to have a survey completed on a property in London in advance of retaining conveyancers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. My surveyor advised that some lenders tend not issue a loan on this type of house.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different requirements from Nationwide. If you contact us we can look into this further via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in London. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in London especially if they are familiar with such properties in London.

My fiance and I may need to let out our London ground floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a London conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your previous London conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. 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 other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can I make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a London conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to assess the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a London flat 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 remaining number of years on the lease was 73.26 years.

Having used your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the bank conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the bank approved panel. How can I be sure given that they are not listed on your directory?

Not all firms are yet listed on our lender panel search tool which is still relatively new. Law firms are listing on a daily basis and it is probably the case that your lawyer is on the mortgage company conveyancing lawyer and you should probably take them at their word. Please do feel free to suggest that they completing their listing on our site as it would only cost them £1 a month to list themselves as being on the bank solicitor panel.