Can you help? My Swanscombe lawyer is assuring me that she is duty bound toapply for Swanscombe conveyancing searches becausethe firm are on the HSBCapproved lawyer panel. These Swanscombe checks cost a lot of money can this be avoided?

Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. As you are taking a home loan with a bank your conveyancer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your solicitor would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your lender’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook conditions . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Swanscombe conveyancing searches.

We are getting a further advance on our mortgage from Aldermore as we intend to carry out renovations to our property in Swanscombe. Do we need to choose a high street Swanscombe solicitor on the Aldermore conveyancing panel to handle the paperwork?

Aldermore do not ordinarily require a member of their conveyancing panel to deal with such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Aldermore list.

I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in Swanscombe. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their conveyancing practitioner. I paid an upfront payment of £200. Shortly after, the solicitor contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Barclays conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Barclays panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I was told three weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Kent Reliance. Is it usual for Kent Reliance to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Swanscombe is approved on their conveyancing panel? Kent Reliance have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their Professional Indemnity Insurance Schedule.

Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Kent Reliance to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

About to purchase a new build flat in Swanscombe. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.

Here is a sample of a few leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Swanscombe

Please supply a car parking plan. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose?

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on a fortnight ago in what should have been a simple, chain free conveyancing. Swanscombe is where the house is located. Can you offer any advice?

Flying freeholds in Swanscombe are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Swanscombe you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Swanscombe may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.

I own a leasehold flat in Swanscombe. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Swanscombe who previously acted has now retired. What should I do?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Swanscombe conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Notwithstanding our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Swanscombe. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Swanscombe conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Swanscombe property is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case affected 13 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 76 years.