I am assisting my sister sell her house in Shadwell. Will the conveyancer commission the EPC or should I organise this?

After the demise of HIPs, EPC’s remained a compulsory element of selling a house. An energy assessment must be commissioned before the property is marketed. This is not something that lawyers normally arrange. Where you are instructing a Shadwell conveyancing practitioner they might be able to arrange EPC’s given their contacts with long established local assessors

I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Aldermore. I assume I don't need a Shadwell conveyancer on the Aldermore panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?

If you have finished paying off your Aldermore mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Aldermore mortgage from the register. Aldermore, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where Aldermore has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. Aldermore has instructed the Land Registry to do so

I've digested plenty of house buying guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Shadwell solicitor - who is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?

Yorkshire BS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Yorkshire BS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your solicitor will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Shadwell postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Yorkshire BS, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Shadwell.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Shadwell?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Shadwell. 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 buying my first flat in Shadwell benefiting from help to buy. The builders would not move on the amount so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent suggested that I not disclose to my lawyer about the deal as it would put at risk my mortgage with Nottingham Building Society. Should I keep quiet?.

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.

My business partner and I are wishing to lease a unit on the high street. Can you recommend conveyancers offering fixed fees for commercial conveyancing in Shadwell for less than 1500k?

We can recommend firms who have specialist knowledge of commercial conveyancing in Shadwell, including the sale and purchase of businesses as well as simply property. Whether you are intending to buy or dispose of a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail unit or a complete business we can find you the right solicitor. As for the charges this will depend on the structure and nuances of the proposed transaction. Let us have your contact information or telephone us so that we can supply you with a detailed commercial conveyancing calculation.

I wish to sublet my leasehold apartment in Shadwell. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

The lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Shadwell do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a Shadwell conveyancing firm to assist?

Where there is a missing landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to determine the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Shadwell flat is 12, 14 & 16 Hull Close in May 2010. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the acquisition of the freehold to the subject premises was the sum of £18,300 This case affected 3 flats. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 101.61 years.