I have given 2 months notice to my existing landlord and have to be out of my rented property in West Thurrock by 5/2/2026. Conveyancing for my house purchase has just started. Is it possible to complete in six weeks as I wish to avoid having to move into short term accommodation?

The normal practice is not to give notice on a rental unless you have exchanged. If you have not previously done so, contact to your lawyer and request that they cajole the owners lawyers, try to get a realistic time scale from them that everyone will work to achieve

My flat in West Thurrock is up for sale and I have a purchaser. Does the conveyancer have to be on the Skipton conveyancing panel in order to deal with repayment of my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Skipton conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently currently.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on last month in what should have been a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. West Thurrock is the location of the property. What do you suggest?

Flying freeholds in West Thurrock are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside West Thurrock you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in West Thurrock 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 premises.

I wish to let out my leasehold apartment in West Thurrock. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your last West Thurrock conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain consent from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I have given up trying to purchase the freehold in West Thurrock. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

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

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a West Thurrock flat 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.

We own a leasehold flat in West Thurrock. Conveyancing was finalised in 21012. I have read on numerous advice forums that I should not let the the remaining lease term to get too short. What is the reasoning?

West Thurrock leasehold properties are for a fixed period - often ninety nine years when they commenced. However many flats in West Thurrock were built or converted 25 or more years ago and so these leases now have under eighty years left to run. That may sound like plenty of time but Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage lenders generally require leases to have a minimum of 75 years left to adequate security. This means that when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are getting close to eighty years. To optimize the saleability of your property you should be considering whether or not to extend your lease long before you come to sell it. There are also strong financial reasons to taking action before the lease hits eighty years as when the lease falls below eighty years the premium to be paid to extend starts to escalate.