I am need of leasehold conveyancing for an apartment in a fairly new development (6 years old) in North Ockendon. Almost all the appartments have already been disposed of. Is it really necessary to order local searches as part of conveyancing in North Ockendon?

You would be putting yourself at risk in refusing to carrying out North Ockendon conveyancing searches. Without searches you have no clarity over flooding, environmental etc which may mean you walk away due to potential problems down the line. If you are buying mortgage free there is no legal requirement to have them, but we would seriously advise in the strongest possible terms that you have them. If accelerating the process and driving down costs are primary concerns you should discuss with your conveyancer about the possibility of search insurance

If you had a top tip for choosing a conveyancing solicitor in North Ockendon what would it be?

It would be unwise to be tempted by the cheapest North Ockendon conveyancing quote. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.

Is it the case that all North Ockendon CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Principality conveyancing panel?

A selection of banks and building societies now make use of CQS as the kick off point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to join their panels.

After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in North Ockendon. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their conveyancer. I paid an on account payment of £150. A couple of days later, the conveyancing practitioner called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Lloyds 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 Lloyds 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.

I am purchasing a new build house in North Ockendon with a mortgage from Godiva Mortgages Ltd. The builders refused to move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative told me not disclose to my lawyer about the extras as it could jeopardize my loan with the bank. Is this normal?.

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.

I opted to have a survey done on a house in North Ockendon before instructing lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. My surveyor has said that some lenders will refuse to issue a loan on a flying freehold house.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. If you e-mail us we can investigate further via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in North Ockendon. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in North Ockendon. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in North Ockendon - 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 am the registered owner of a ground-floor 1950’s flat in North Ockendon. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium due for the purchase of the freehold?

Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a North Ockendon residence is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 57.5 years.