I am acquiring a house for cash in Palmers Green. I have lived for the last 15 years in Palmers Green. Conveyancing searches are a lot of money. Given that I know the road and vicinity intimately must I have all the conveyancing searches?

Provided that you do not need a home loan, then almost all of the Palmers Green conveyancing searches are optional. Your lawyer will ’encourage you, no-doubt strongly, that you should have searches carried out, but he is duty bound to take that path of encouragement . One thing to take into account; if you are going to dispose of the house one day, it may be of interest to your future purchaser what the searches contain. There are plenty of instances where properties with day to day issues can still reveal detrimental search results. A competent conveyancing solicitor in Palmers Green will provide you some helpful guidance concerning this.

I am the registered owner of a freehold residence in Palmers Green yet charged rent, why is this and what is this?

It’s unusual for properties in Palmers Green and has limited impact for conveyancing in Palmers Green but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.

Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back many centuries, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the generation of new rentcharges post 1977.

Previous rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence in 2037 will be extinguished.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £235,500 and identified one round the corner in Palmers Green I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, however it's only got 52 years on the lease. There is not much else in Palmers Green in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?

If you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.

Is it possible to change conveyancer as I need to appoint a firm on the National Westminster Bank conveyancing panel. I hired a high street conveyancing solicitor in Palmers Green round the corner but he is not accepted by National Westminster Bank

We will our best to assist in finding you a conveyancing solicitor in Palmers Green on the National Westminster Bank panel. Please note that the conveyancers that we work with do not pay us commission if you instruct them and are authorised and regulated by the SRA who regulate all conveyancing solicitors in Palmers Green. In making use of search facility on this page, you can compare and instruct different solicitors and conveyancers both nationally and in Palmers Green.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Palmers Green. Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon, however I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the invoice as usual because all rents and maintenance payments will be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

We have reached the end of our tether in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Palmers Green. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement 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 First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to assess the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Palmers Green flat is First Floor Flat 109 Lyndhurst Road in May 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 29th October 2009 the Tribunal decided on a figure of £5,012 for a lease extension. This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 81.79 years.