I am in need of a property lawyer. Should I go for for an online conveyancer or a high street Whitstable conveyancing lawyer?

In the main conveyancing practitioners in your neck of the woods will have good relationships with your local authority, which can help with your Whitstable conveyancing searches that your conveyancer will require on your transaction. It also helps if they have good connections with the Local Land Registry Office your area Whitstable, other lawyers in the neighbourhood and Whitstable Estate Agents.

Our nephew is about to exchange on a house that has just been built in Whitstable with a home loan from Co-operative. His conveyancer has said that there is a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?

The document is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Co-operative conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Co-operative conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and found one near me in Whitstable I like with amenity areas and transport links nearby, however it's only got 51 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Whitstable suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?

If you require a home loan that many years will likely be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you may ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.

My husband and I are first time buyers - had an offer accepted, yet the selling agent informed us that the vendor will only proceed if we appoint the agent's preferred conveyancers as they need a ‘quick sale’. Our preferred option is to instruct a high street solicitor used to conveyancing in Whitstable

It is unlikely the sellers are behind this. If they desire ‘a quick sale', alienating a motivated buyer is is going to put the whole deal at risk. Avoid the agents and go straight to the owners and make the point that (a)you are motivated purchasers (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you are chain free (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you will continue to appoint your preferred Whitstable conveyancing lawyers - not the ones that will give the negotiator at the agency a commission or achieve conveyancing figures demanded by corporate headquarters.

Planning to complete next month on a studio apartment in Whitstable. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Whitstable should include some of the following:

Details of the parties to the lease, for instance these could be the tennant, head lessor, freeholder Alterations to the property Information as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - in respect of the block, and the more general rights a lessee has It needs to be made clear to you if the lease allows you to alter or improve anything in the property- you should know whether any restrictions applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether licences for alterations is required What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

I am the registered owner of a split level flat in Whitstable, conveyancing having been completed 6 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable properties in Whitstable with an extended lease are worth £171,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2104

With 79 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £8,600 and £9,800 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.