A colleague recommended that where I am buying in Waltham Cross I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?

This is a search is sometimes included in the estimate for your Waltham Cross conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Waltham Cross around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Waltham Cross.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Waltham Cross?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Waltham Cross. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

I am buying a new build house in Waltham Cross with a loan from Barclays Direct. The developers would not reduce the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not to tell my lawyer about this extras as it could affect my loan with the lender. Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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.

How do I use the search facility to get a costs illustration from a conveyancing practitioner in Waltham Cross on the authorised to act for my bank?

Step one is to select a bank such as Lloyds TSB Bank, Skipton Building Society or Alliance & Leicester then type in your location for instance Waltham Cross. Conveyancing organisations in Waltham Cross and across England and Wales will then be shown.

Last November I purchased a leasehold property in Waltham Cross. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I have given up trying to purchase the freehold in Waltham Cross. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the sum to be paid.

An example of a Vesting Order and Purchase of freehold decision for a Waltham Cross premises is Ground Floor Flat 4A Baronet Road in February 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 23rd December 2008 (case number 8ED064) the Tribunal decided that the price that the Applicant for the freehold interest should pay is £8,689.00 This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 80.01 years.