As someone unfamiliar with conveyancing in Finsbury what’s your top tip you can give me concerning the house moving process in Finsbury

You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Finsbury or throughout England and Wales is often a confrontational experience. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there is an abundance of room for conflict between you and other parties involved in the legal transfer of property. E.g., the vendor, property agent and on occasion a mortgage company. Selecting a law firm for your conveyancing in Finsbury is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY party in the process whose responsibility is to act in your legal interests and to keep you safe.

Every so often a third party with a vested interest may attempt to persuade you that you should follow their advice. As an example, the estate agent may claim to be helping by claiming that your conveyancer is wrong. Or your mortgage broker may tell you to do something that is contrary to your solicitors recommendation. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the home moving process.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up during conveyancing in Finsbury?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Finsbury. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

I am purchasing a new build house in Finsbury with a mortgage from Barclays Direct. The builders would not reduce the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The estate agent told me not inform my lawyer about the deal as it may jeopardize my loan with Barclays Direct. Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

I opted to have a survey carried out on a property in Finsbury before instructing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. The surveyor has said that some lenders may refuse to give a loan on this type of property.

It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. If you call us we can investigate further with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Finsbury. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Finsbury especially if they are accustomed to such properties in Finsbury.

My partner and I may need to rent out our Finsbury basement flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Finsbury conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Finsbury conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without first obtaining consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Following months of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Finsbury. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Finsbury premises is Flat 89 Trinity Court Grays Inn Road in February 2013. the Tribunal found that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 should be £36,229. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 66.8 years.