We were just about to sign contracts for a leasehold flat in West Ham. We encountered a problem. The mortgage offer with expires on but the vendors are insisting on a completion date of . Is it possible to extend the mortgage offer?

The person best placed to address this question is your solicitors who should calculate whether he or she is should be discussing with the mortgage company, owner’s lawyers, property agents or indeed all three given what has gone on in your conveyancing as of today.

I purchased a freehold residence in West Ham but nevertheless charged rent, why is this and what is this?

It is rare for properties in West Ham and has limited impact for conveyancing in West Ham 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 creation of fresh rentcharges post 1977.

Previous rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 is to be extinguished.

What happens if my solicitor is removed from the Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in West Ham?

The first thing to point out is that, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on two weeks back in what was supposed to be a quick, no chain conveyancing. West Ham is the location of the property. Is there any guidance you can give?

Flying freeholds in West Ham are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside West Ham you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in West Ham may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.

We own a leasehold flat in West Ham. Conveyancing was completed in 2011. I have read on various consumer forums that I should not allow the the remaining lease term to fall too short. Why is that a problem?

West Ham leasehold properties are for a prescribed period - often ninety nine years when they started. However many flats in West Ham were constructed or converted in the 60’s and so such leases now have less than eighty years remaining. This may seem like plenty of time but Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage lenders tend to require leases to have at least seventy five years unexpired to be mortgageable. This means that when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are nearing 75 years. To optimize your property value you should be considering whether or not to extend your lease well in advance of selling the property. Please note that there are advantages to doing so before the lease reaches even eighty years as when the lease is below eighty years the amount to be paid to extend starts to get a lot more expensive.