As a FTB what is the most important piece of guidance you can impart regarding purchase conveyancing in Chislehurst?

Not many law firms or advisers will tell you this but conveyancing in Chislehurst and elsewhere in South East London is often a confrontational experience. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there is lots of opportunity for confrontation between you and other parties involved in the legal transfer of property. E.g., the seller, property agent and on occasion the bank. Selecting a solicitor for your conveyancing in Chislehurst is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the SOLE person in the legal process whose role it is to act in your legal interests and to protect you.

Every so often a third party with a vested interest may try and sway you that it is in your interests to do things their way. For instance, the selling agent may claim to be helping by claiming that your solicitor is wrong. Or your mortgage broker may tell you to do something that is contrary to your lawyers guidance. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties when it comes to the legal transfer of property.

My husband and I have organised the release of further funds on our home loan from RBS as we intend to conduct alterations to our property in Chislehurst. Are we obliged to appoint a high street Chislehurst solicitor on the RBS conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?

RBS do not ordinarily appoint firms on their conveyancing panel to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the RBS list.

We have a mortgage agreed in principle with RBS. Chislehurst conveyancing lawyers are appointed. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from RBS?

Some lenders take longer than others. Have RBS conducted the valuation? Have you informed RBS as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the RBS conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

I'm at the point of looking at houses in Chislehurst and I am about to put in an offer. Should I already have a conveyancer in place at this stage? I intend to finance via a home loan with Virgin Money.

You should start requesting conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the EA. Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Virgin Money, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what should have been a simple, no chain conveyancing. Chislehurst is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?

Flying freeholds in Chislehurst are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Chislehurst you would need to get your solicitor to go 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 Chislehurst may determine 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 premises.

Am I better off to instruct a Chislehurst conveyancing lawyer who is local to the property I am hoping to buy? We have a good friend who can carry out the legal work but they are based 300kilometers drive away.

The primary upside of using a local Chislehurst conveyancing firm is that you can pop in to sign documents, hand in your ID and pester them where appropriate. Having local Chislehurst know how is a benefit. However it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have used your friend and the majority were happy that must trump using an unknown Chislehurst conveyancing lawyer just because they are based in the area.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Chislehurst which have approximately fifty years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Chislehurst is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. For most buyers and lenders, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Chislehurst conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I own a second floor flat in Chislehurst. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount payable for a lease extension?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Chislehurst conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Chislehurst flat is 70 Andace Park Gardens 133-149 Widmore Road in November 2013. Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the lease extension was £10,052 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 72 years.