My fiance and I are looking to acquire a house in Sydenham and have instructed a Sydenham conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Birmingham Midshires have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Sydenham conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?

If you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Sydenham lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.

I have been on the look out for a flat up to £235,500 and identified one close by in Sydenham I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Sydenham suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?

If you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.

My company is looking to take an assignment of a lease of an office on the high street. Can you recommend lawyers offering competitive charges for non-domestic conveyancing in Sydenham for less than £1,200?

We are happy to recommend firms who host a wealth of experience of commercial conveyancing in Sydenham, including the disposal and acquisition of businesses as well as simply premises. Whether you are looking to acquire or dispose of a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail premises or a whole business we can put you in touch with the right lawyer. As for the charges these will vary based on the structure and complexity of the deal. Please provide us with your details or call us so that we may furnish you with comprehensive commercial conveyancing quote.

In my capacity as executor for the estate of my aunt I am disposing of a residence in Neath but live in Sydenham. My conveyancer (approximately 235 kilometers awayrequires that I sign a statutory declaration prior to the transaction finalising. Could you suggest a conveyancing lawyer in Sydenham to witness this legal document for me?

Technically speaking you are not likely to need to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally or notary public or qualified solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are Sydenham based

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Sydenham where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Sydenham conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in Sydenham. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Sydenham flat is Flat 1 4 Border Crescent in March 2012. the Tribunal decided that the sum payable by the Applicants to the Respondent in respect of the new lease for the subject property should be £11,616.00 (ElevenThousand and Six Hundred and Sixteen Pounds) This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 72.04 years.