Can you explain why leasehold purchase conveyancing in St James costs more?

St James leasehold conveyancing transactions usually involve additional investigations than freeholds including investigating the Lease, liaising with the Landlord such as serving appropriate notices on the Landlord or managing agent, obtaining up-to-date service charge and management information, obtaining Landlord’s consents and reviewing management accounts and formation documents.

I am selling my home in St James. Does the lawyer need to be required to be on the Barclays conveyancing panel in order to deal with the discharge of my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Barclays conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their conditions fairly frequently currently.

Should my conveyancer be raising questions concerning flooding during the conveyancing in St James.

Flooding is a growing risk for lawyers dealing with homes in St James. There are those who buy a property in St James, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical destruction, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or dispose of the premises. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the buyer.

Lawyers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a number of checks that may be undertaken by the buyer or by their conveyancers which can figure out the risks in St James. The standard property information forms supplied to a buyer’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a usual question of the vendor to find out whether the premises has historically flooded. In the event that flooding has previously occurred and is not disclosed by the seller, then a purchaser could issue a compensation claim as a result of such an inaccurate answer. The buyer’s conveyancers may also order an environmental report. This should disclose whether there is any known flood risk. If so, additional investigations will need to be conducted.

I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and identified one close by in St James I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 52 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in St James in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?

Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.

Given that I am about to spend £400,000 on a terraced house in St James I wish to have a conversation with the lawyer regarding theconveyancing ahead of appointing the firm. Can this be arranged?

Absolutely - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you speaking to the conveyancer due to be conducting your property ownership legalities in St James.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is an important individual, not a file reference. The law firms that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are provided with for your conveyancing in St James should be the amount on the final invoice that you are charged.