I am mortgaging my flat in Oval, does my lawyer have to be on the Kent Reliance Conveyancing panel?

There is nothing to stop you using your solicitor, but Kent Reliance will insist on their interests being represented by a firm on their conveyancing panel. There is greater potential for delays and confusion with an additional lawyer added to the mix, and it will undoubtedly be more expensive too.

I have justdiscovered that Action Conveyancing have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Oval for a purchase of a freehold house 10 months ago. How can I be sure that the property is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?

The quickest way to check if the premises is in your name, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Oval conveyancing specialists.

How does conveyancing in Oval differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build premises in Oval contact us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is constructed. This is because builders in Oval tend to purchase the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Oval or who has acted in the same development.

Given that I will soon part with hundreds of thousands of pounds on 3 bedroom house in Oval I would like to talk to a conveyancer regarding theconveyancing ahead of instructing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?

This is something that we encourage - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the solicitor who will be conducting your property ownership legalities in Oval.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is an important person, not a matter reference. The law firms that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are quoted for your conveyancing in Oval should be the figure that you are charged.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Oval from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Oval can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers’ conveyancers.
Some Oval leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers. If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Oval state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. If you dont have the approvals in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.

After months of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Oval. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

if there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to arrive at the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Oval flat is Ground Floor Flat 39 Bronsart Road in May 2010. Following a vesting order by West London County Court the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal concluded that the price to be paid for the extended lease of the premises was Thirteen Thousand Two hundred pounds (£13,200) in accordance with the valuation. The extended lease was granted for a term of 90 years from the expiry date of the Lease and at a peppercorn ground rent from the date of the vesting order. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 74.77 years.