I can't travel far from Thamesmead. Please spell out why all Thamesmead lawyers aren't included on all mortgage company panels?

As unjust as it may appear for lenders to limit who can represent them, from the public’s or solicitor’s standpoint, the the contrary view is that lending institutions are becoming ever more anxious and regard it vital to protect them from illegal activities. As a consequence of this concern mortgage companies are limiting their panel of approved conveyancing lawyers to a manageable size.

How does conveyancing in Thamesmead differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Thamesmead contact us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is constructed. This is because house builders in Thamesmead typically buy the real estate, 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 Thamesmead or who has acted in the same development.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and identified one near me in Thamesmead I like with a park and station nearby, the downside is that it only has 51 years on the lease. There is not much else in Thamesmead suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?

Should you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be an issue. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you may request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.

I own a leasehold flat in Thamesmead. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Thamesmead who acted for me is not around. What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Thamesmead conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in negotiating a lease extension in Thamesmead. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

if there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to decide the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Thamesmead flat is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case affected 13 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 76 years.

I have checked your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the mortgage company conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the bank approved panel. How can I be sure given that they are not listed on your directory?

Not all firms are yet listed on our lender panel search tool which is still relatively new. Law firms are listing on a daily basis and it is probably the case that your lawyer is on the lender conveyancing lawyer and you should probably take them at their word. Please do feel free to suggest that they completing their listing on our site as it would only cost them £1 a month to list themselves as being on the mortgage company solicitor panel.