I am buying a garden flat in West Malling. Can I do my own conveyancing?

Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in West Malling you will have to appoint a solicitor on your lender's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in West Malling.

3 months have gone by since my purchase conveyancing in West Malling completed. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £215,000. 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 premises 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.

About to purchase a new build apartment in West Malling. Conveyancing is daunting 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 legal work.

Here is a sample of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in West Malling

The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Please confirm the Lease plans are architect prepared. 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. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier?

Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £245,000 and identified one close by in West Malling I like with open areas and station nearby, the downside is that it's only got 61 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in West Malling in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?

If you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you can ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.

How does one remove a deceased person's details from the title register for a property in West Malling?

If a West Malling property is co-owned and one of the owners passes away, their name will not automatically be removed from the Land Registry title. It is not necessary to amend the title as when it comes to a disposal you would just be required to evidence why the joint owner is missing from the transfer, typically this takes the form of the probate documents.

With a view to making things smoother for the sale of the property you may arrange to have the deceased name removed from the title register by submitting an application to HM Land Registry with evidence of the death. There is no fee from the Registry for this service.