Can you explain why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Wallington is more expensive?

In summary, leasehold conveyancing in Wallington and Surrey usually involve extra hours of investigation compared to freehold transactions. This includes reviewing the lease, corresponding with the landlord about the service of applicable notices, securing current service charge and management information, procuring the freeholder’s consents and reviewing management accounts. The obligations on both the landlord and the tenant in the lease need to be studied by the buyer’s conveyancing team and read from beginning to end – no matter how many different owners have owned the lease since it was first granted.

is it true that all Wallington conveyancing solicitors on the Nottingham conveyancing panel are governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Nottingham conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Many lenders do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the organisation would be governed by the CLC.

My partner and I have organised a further advance on our home loan from Principality as we wish to carry out renovations to our house in Wallington. Are we obliged to select a nearby Wallington solicitor on the Principality conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?

Principality do not ordinarily require firms on their approved list of lawyers to handle the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Principality panel.

I can not fathom if my mortgage offer requires a lease extension. I have telephoned my Wallington bank branch on a couple of occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they will lend. My Wallington conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- called to say that they refuse to lend based on their published requirements. Who do I believe?

As long as the conveyancing practitioner is on the bank panel, she or he must follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook provisions for the bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the lender will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.

It has been four months following my purchase conveyancing in Wallington completed. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £160,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and found one near me in Wallington I like with open areas and railway links nearby, however it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Wallington for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Wallington conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Wallington conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggest that you talk with several firms including non Wallington conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions might be helpful:

If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

I inherited a ground-floor 1960’s flat in Wallington. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium payable for the purchase of the freehold?

You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Wallington conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Wallington premises is 21 & 23 Carshalton Grove in May 2009. the Tribunal adopted the figures presented as the premiums payable by the Applicant i.e. a total of £20,750. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 72 years.