My relative recommended that where I am purchasing in Orpington I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

This is a search is occasionally included in the estimate for your Orpington conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing significant information about Orpington around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Orpington Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning Orpington.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in Orpington?

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Orpington. 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…’

Am I right to be wary about third parties that I am dealing with are recommending a web based conveyancing firm rather than a local Orpington conveyancing company?

As is the case with lots of service providers, often input from relatives can be worth their weight in gold. But there are numerous players in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, financial adviser and lenders might all suggest lawyers to appoint. Sometimes these lawyers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but sometimes there exists a financial incentive behind the recommendation. You are at liberty to appoint your preferred lawyer. Don't forget that the majority of banks operate an approved list of solicitors you must use for the lender related work in your conveyancing.

I am looking at a two flats in Orpington which have in the region of fifty years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area.

I inherited a studio flat in Orpington, conveyancing formalities finalised in 1995. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Orpington with over 90 years remaining are worth £165,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease finishes on 21st October 50

With 50 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £36,100 and £41,800 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

I need to review estimates for conveyancing in Orpington from three and appoint one. Do I tell them to sit tight until I have found somewhere to purchase.

We would recommend that you wait to ask your to open a file and apply for searches after the offer has been accepted on the property particularly as Orpington conveyancing searches are not inexpensive.