Please explain the implications if my lawyer’s firm is removed from the Skipton Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Bexleyheath?

First, this is very unlikely to happen. 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 for a fee.

I am assisting my niece sell her flat in Bexleyheath. Will the conveyancer order an energy performance certificate or do I organise this?

Following the abolition of Home Information Packs, EPC’s was retained a mandatory component of selling a property. An EPC should be commissioned before the property is put on the market. It is not as aspect of the sale process that law firms normally arrange. Where you are using a Bexleyheath conveyancing solicitor they might help arrange energy assessments given their contacts with long established local accredited person

We are getting a further advance on our home loan from Leeds Building Society as we wish to carry out alterations to our house in Bexleyheath. Are we obliged to choose a high street Bexleyheath solicitor on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel to handle the legals?

Leeds Building Society do not ordinarily appoint a member of their approved list of lawyers to handle the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel.

I was told four weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by UBS. Is it usual for UBS to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Bexleyheath is approved on their conveyancing panel? UBS have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their PI Insurance.

A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for UBS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the UBS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what should have been a quick, chain free conveyancing. Bexleyheath is where the house is located. What do you suggest?

Flying freeholds in Bexleyheath are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Bexleyheath you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Bexleyheath may ascertain 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.

Given that I will soon part with hundreds of thousands of pounds on a property in Bexleyheath I wish to talk to a conveyancer regarding thehouse move in advance of giving the go ahead to the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?

Absolutely - we would be pleased to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you speaking to the conveyancer who will be conducting your conveyancing in Bexleyheath.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is unique person, not a file reference. The solicitors that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are calculated and presented to you for residential conveyancing in Bexleyheath should be the amount on the final invoice that you are charged.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bexleyheath from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bexleyheath can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers’ lawyers.
If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Bexleyheath home move. If a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible. If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing. You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

I own a basement flat in Bexleyheath. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium payable for the purchase of the freehold?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Bexleyheath conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Bexleyheath property 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 unexpired term was 76 years.