My partner and I are only a couple days away from an exchange on a flat in North East London and my mum and dad have sent the exchange deposit to my property lawyer. I am now advised that as the deposit has not arrived from me my conveyancer needs to make a notification to my bank. Apparently, in also acting for the lender he must inform them that the balance of the purchase price is coming from anyone other than me. I advised the bank regarding my parents' contribution when I applied for the mortgage, so is it really appropriate for this now to be an issue?

Your solicitor is duty bound to clarify with mortgage company to make sure that they understand that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. Your solicitor can only disclose this to your mortgage company if you permit them to, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.

A friend recommended that if I am buying in North East London I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?

This is a search is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard North East London conveyancing searches. It is a large report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing significant information about North East London around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the North East London Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding North East London.

I opted to have a survey done on a property in North East London in advance of retaining conveyancers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. Our surveyor advised that some banks tend refuse to give a loan on a flying freehold house.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different requirements for example to Halifax. If you call us we can check via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in North East London. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

Should I appoint a North East London conveyancing lawyer in close proximity to the house I am purchasing? An old friend can carry out the legal formalities however his firm is located 200miles away.

The primary upside of using a local North East London conveyancing firm is that you can visit the firm to execute documents, deliver your ID and pester them where appropriate. Having local North East London know how is a plus. That being said it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust used your friend and the majority were happy that should outweigh using an unknown North East London conveyancing lawyer just because they are local.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £150,000 maisonette in North East London next week. The management company has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in North East London?

North East London conveyancing on leasehold apartments ordinarily results in fees being raised by management companies :

Completing pre-exchange enquiries Where consent is required before sale in North East London Copies of the building insurance and schedule Deeds of covenant upon sale Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for North East London leasehold premises is £350. For North East London conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide the information.

I inherited a leasehold flat in North East London, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in North East London with over 90 years remaining are worth £227,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2096

You have 72 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.