As someone clueless as to the St Luke's conveyancing process what’s the number one tip you can impart for the legal transfer of property in St Luke's

You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in St Luke's or throughout England and Wales is an adversarial process. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there exists lots of room for friction between you and others involved in the house moving process. For instance, the vendor, estate agent and sometimes a lender. Choosing a solicitor for your conveyancing in St Luke's is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY party in the legal process whose interest is to act in your best interests and to protect you.

We are witnessing a distinct increase in the "blame" culture- someone has to be blamed for the process being so protracted. You should always trust your solicitor ahead of all other parties in the home moving process.

How does conveyancing in St Luke's differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build premises in St Luke's come to us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is built. This is because developers in St Luke's tend to purchase the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in St Luke's or who has acted in the same development.

I opted to have a survey carried out on a property in St Luke's prior to instructing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. My surveyor has said that some mortgage companies may not give a mortgage on a flying freehold home.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different requirements for example to Nationwide. If you call us we can check with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in St Luke's. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in St Luke's to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

I'm remortgaging my existing home to a buy to let mortgage with Barclays and intend to use the remaining equity as a down payment on a second property. The neighborhood we are talking about is St Luke's. Will your conveyancers be able to act for the two mortgage companies and tie in the two deals?

Do use our search tool on this page to be sure that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panels. On the basis that they are your conveyancer should be able to simultaneously deal with the two conveyancing matters but you should talk with you conveyancer and communicate your desired outcome and requirements.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in St Luke's. Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon, however I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the invoice as you normally would given that all ground rent and service payments should be allotted on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents 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.

I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in St Luke's. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a St Luke's conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a St Luke's flat is 137 & 139 Haberdasher Street in December 2013. The Tribunal determines in accordance with section 48 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease for each Property should be £12,350.00. This case affected 2 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 72.39 years.