Embassy exodus returns acres of central London to its residents
As the embassies exit Mayfair and Marylebone, their former bases will free up stunning family homes. While the move of many embassies to Nine Elms at Vauxhall is creating a new residential quarter including thousands of new apartments.
Fast new commuter routes are changing London's property map
Regeneration throughout London continues to change the property map, with the orbital train network and recent Tube line extensions creating faster commuter routes with good-value homes, including Deptford, Bromley and Woolwich.
Brighton spotlight
The East Sussex city of Brighton and Hove offers its residents the best of both worlds: a relaxed life at one end of the line within an hour's commute of London, and a good mix of Regency terrace houses, seafront apartments and family homes.
Canterbury spotlight
The compact city of Canterbury sits 60 miles south-east of London in Kent. In recent years its property market has been boosted by a high-speed rail service into St Pancras, which cuts the journey time to the capital to less than an hour.
Chelsea Flower Show preview 2013
This year the RHS Chelsea Flower Show promises to be suitably fabulous as it celebrates its centenary year with stunning gardens, including the Forget-me-Not Garden by B&Q and Prince Harry's charity.
Find a rated tradesman
Want to add value to your property, make your house a home, or sell your place fast? With 1,000s of tradesmen nationwide, rated and recommended by previous customers, this is the smart way to find a reputable tradesman.
Buy of the week: Stoke Newington, N16
This modern home of almost 1,000sq ft is close to Stoke Newington's high street. A 27ft reception room and two large bedrooms give the flat a spacious feel.
Out of town: Tetbury, Gloucestershire
The beauty spot of Leighterton, with its poppy fields, ivy-covered churches and popular local gastro pub, is home to this four-bedroom house with stone-walled gardens.
Life-changer: Dolwyddelan, Conwy
Have a station all to yourself by buying the Old Station Master's house at Roman Bridge, where trains will stop at your door on request. You also get three bedrooms and 10 acres of grounds.
Oxford spotlight
The small city of Oxford is famous for its university and honeyed stone architecture, but its huge range of property - from affordable new homes to luxurious Victorian houses - and one hour commute to London, are big attractions to home buyers.-
Buy of the week: Stoke Newington, N16
This modern home of almost 1,000sq ft is close to Stoke Newington's high street. A 27ft reception room and two large bedrooms give the flat a spacious feel. -
Out of town: Tetbury, Gloucestershire
The beauty spot of Leighterton, with its poppy fields, ivy-covered churches and popular local gastro pub, is home to this four-bedroom house with stone-walled gardens. -
Life-changer: Dolwyddelan, Conwy
Have a station all to yourself by buying the Old Station Master's house at Roman Bridge, where trains will stop at your door on request. You also get three bedrooms and 10 acres of grounds.
Property search
Can anything be done when a seller puts the price up?
Our lawyer, Fiona McNulty, answers your questions
Question: We should have exchanged contracts on our new house last Friday, but the seller upped the price on Thursday by £25,000, so it didn’t happen. Now he wants immediate exchange of contracts at the new price with completion not until the first week of July as his sister is living there and can’t move out until then. Can he do this? Does it matter that’s she’s living there? 
Answer: It is unfortunate when a seller of a property behaves in this way. However, I’m afraid there is very little that can be done about it because there is no binding contract until exchange of contracts and so you and your seller are each entitled to change the terms of the agreement and/or withdraw from the transaction at any stage prior to exchange of contracts without penalty. Such behaviour will usually result in wasted costs for both parties.
If you still want the house and decide to pay the increased price, you must also inform any lender from whom you have a mortgage offer as the mortgage offer will require amendment to reflect the new price.
Indeed, if you need to borrow more money from your lender to pay for the increase in price, this may cause you delays as your lender will want to consider the new loan to value ratio and indeed whether your personal finances can sustain a larger mortgage.
Your lawyer should ensure that the sister signs the contract to confirm that she will vacate the property prior to or on the completion date and to acknowledge that she accepts she has no occupancy rights.
If you would ideally like to complete earlier, use the fact that you are paying a higher price as a bargaining tool.
What's your problem?
If you have a question for Fiona McNulty, email legalsolutions@standard.co.uk. We regret that questions cannot be answered individually.
Fiona is a partner in the residential real estate team at Thring LLP (www.thrings.com).
These answers can only be a very brief commentary on the issues raised and should not be relied on as legal advice. No liability is accepted for such reliance. If you have similar issues, you should obtain advice from a solicitor.
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