My husband and I are buying a newly constructed apartment in Beckenham and my solicitor is telling me that she has to the bank to disclose incentives from the builder. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange contracts and I have no desire to delay matters. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your lawyer. A precondition to being on a bank 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.
I have 70 years left on my lease and need a lease extension for my flat in Beckenham. Conveyancing solicitors on the Platform panel can deal with such extensions right?
Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are obtaining a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. Platform have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 13/8/2026 the requirements read as follows :
I am due to move property in November. Should my conveyancing solicitor communicate with the removal company on the completion day. On a separate note, can you recommend a removal company in Beckenham. Conveyancing lawyer was organised before I stumbled across this website.
On the day of completion you will need to pick up the house keys from the estate agent but this should only take place when the vendors solicitors inform the agent that they acknowledge receipt of the completion payment and the keys can be handed over. Subsequently you should inform the removal company that you are ready to move in. As a matter of policy we do not suggest a specific removal company but can assist you in finding a conveyancing in Beckenham or a solicitor that specialises in conveyancing in Beckenham.
Is it the case that all Beckenham CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Nottingham conveyancing list of approved practices?
It is true that some banks and building societies now make use of CQS as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to remain on their panels.
Can I be sure that the Beckenham conveyancing solicitor on the Kent Reliance panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Beckenham obtaining recommendations is a good start. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always advise that you speak with the solicitor conducting your transaction.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £305k and found one near me in Beckenham I like with amenity areas and station nearby, however it only has 61 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Beckenham for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?
Should you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term may be problematic. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you can ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.
Am I best advised to use a Beckenham conveyancing practitioner who is local to the property I am hoping to buy? We have a good friend who can perform the conveyancing however his firm is located over three hundred miles away.
The primary upside of using a high street Beckenham conveyancing practice is that you can drop in to execute documents, hand in your ID and pester them if necessary. Having local Beckenham know how is a bonus. However it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who instructed your friend and on the whole were impressed that should trump using an unfamiliar Beckenham conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being based in the area.
My wife and I may need to sub-let our Beckenham 1st floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Beckenham conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?
Notwithstanding that your previous Beckenham conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.
I own a first floor flat in Beckenham. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount payable for a lease extension?
in cases where there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the sum to be paid.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Beckenham flat is 26 Manor Road in July 2010. the Tribunal decided that price to be paid for the freehold was £12,420 This case affected 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 76.75 and 88.83.