My husband and I are buying a new build apartment in Wandsworth and my lawyer is informing me that she is duty bound to the bank to disclose incentives from the builder. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to exchange contracts and I have no desire to delay deal. Is my lawyer right?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property lawyer. A precondition to being on a lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

My lawyer in Wandsworth is not on the HSBC Bank Solicitor Panel. Can I still use my prefered solicitor even though they are not on the HSBC Bank panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?

The limited options open to you here include:

1. Carry on with your existing Wandsworth solicitors but HSBC Bank will need to instruct a conveyancer on their panel. This will inevitably rack up the total conveyancing fees and cause frustration.
2. Choose a new practitioner to to deal with the purchase, remembering to check they are HSBC Bank approved.
3. Try to convince your HSBC Bank based solicitor to seek to join the HSBC Bank panel

Me and my brother have a semi-detached Edwardian house in Wandsworth. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Bank of Ireland. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Wandsworth and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the position with your conveyancing solicitor who carried out the work.

I am buying a new build flat in Wandsworth. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Here are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Wandsworth

Please supply evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. 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.

I am attracted to a two flats in Wandsworth which have approximately forty five years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Wandsworth is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Wandsworth conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can one apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Wandsworth conveyancing firm to assist?

if there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the price payable.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Wandsworth premises is 4 Galveston Road in August 2012. The Tribunal determined that the price payable in respect of the purchase of the freehold was £22,650. The Tribunal remited this matter back to the Wandsworth County Court for execution of the freehold Transfer Deed. This case affected 2 flats.