I am 4 weeks into the sale of my house in Chadwell St Mary and the estate agent has just e-mailed to warn that the purchasers are changing their solicitor. The reason given is that the bank will only work with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a big named mortgage company only engage with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Chadwell St Mary ?

Banks have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in recent years big names such as Santander, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 25 years.

Lending institutions attribute this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are unlikely to have any impact on this.

My wife and I have a 4 bedroom Georgian house in Chadwell St Mary. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and . I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the matching property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??

You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Chadwell St Mary and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also check the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the work.

About to purchase a new build apartment in Chadwell St Mary. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.

Here is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Chadwell St Mary

Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £245,000 and found one near me in Chadwell St Mary I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, however it only has 51 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Chadwell St Mary for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a mortgage that many years will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the expected 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 can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.

I am looking at a two apartments in Chadwell St Mary which have approximately fifty years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area.

I invested in buying a 1st floor flat in Chadwell St Mary, conveyancing formalities finalised 3 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding properties in Chadwell St Mary with over 90 years remaining are worth £165,000. The ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease runs out on 21st October 50

You have 50 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £36,100 and £41,800 plus professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.