I have given 2 months notice to my existing landlord and must leave my rented flat in Piccadilly by the end of next month. Conveyancing on my purchase is underway. Can I complete in 5 weeks as I wish to avoid having to find short term accommodation?

It is unwise to serve notice for your lease until your lawyer suggests that you should. If you have not previously done so, speak to your conveyancer and request that they apply pressure on the other lawyers, try to get a realistic time scale from them that everyone will look towards

In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Piccadilly? Is this really warranted?

You are right in the requirement set out by your lawyer has nothing to do with conveyancing in Piccadilly. However these days you will not be able to proceed with any conveyancing transaction without first providing evidence of your identity. Ordinarily this takes the form of a either your passport or driving licence as well as a bank statement. Please note that if you are supplying your driving licence as proof of ID it needs to be both the paper section as well as the photo card part, one is not acceptable without the other.

Verification of your origin of money is necessary in accordance with the Money Laundering Regulations. Don’t be offended when when this is requested of you as your conveyancing solicitor will need to retain this information on record. Your Piccadilly conveyancing solicitor will need to see evidence of proof of funds before they are able to accept any funds from you into their client account and they should also ask additional questions concerning the source of funds.

The Piccadilly conveyancing firm that just started acting on my purchase in Piccadilly have without warning shut down. I chose them because I needed a firm on the conveyancing panel and my previous Piccadilly lawyer was not. I sent them a cheque for £250 in advance. What should be my next steps?

If you have an estate agent involved then inform them immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors should be in a position to assist.

I am buying a new build house in Piccadilly with a loan from . The sellers refused to budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative advised me not to tell my solicitor about the extras as it could put at risk my loan with the bank. 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 am hoping to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Piccadilly. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Piccadilly should include some of the following:

The landlord’s rights to access the flat. You should be made aware that your landlord has rights of access as well as be informed how much notice must be provided. You must be advised what is to be regarded as a Nuisance in the lease Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice? Rent payments - how much and when is collected, and be on notice if this will change in the future Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?

I own a 1st floor flat in Piccadilly, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding flats in Piccadilly with a long lease are worth £165,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 50

With just 50 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £36,100 and £41,800 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.