I am buying a property for cash in Acton. I have lived for the last 15 years in Acton. Conveyancing searches are a lot of money. As I know the road and vicinity very well must I have all the conveyancing searches?
Provided that you do not need a mortgage, then the vast majority of the Acton conveyancing searches are optional. Your solicitor will 'advise', perhaps strongly, that you should have searches carried out, but she has a professional duty to do this. One thing to consider; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it will be of interest to your prospective purchaser what the searches contain. There are plenty of instances where houses with day to day issues can still reveal negative search results. A competent conveyancing solicitor in Acton will provide you some helpful advice in this regard.
What is the first thing I need to know about purchase conveyancing in Acton?
Not many law firms or advisers will tell you this but conveyancing in Acton and elsewhere in England and Wales is an adversarial process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists lots of opportunity for conflict between you and others involved in the ownership transfer. E.g., the seller, selling agent and sometimes a bank. Choosing a lawyer for your conveyancing in Acton is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the SOLE party in the transaction whose role it is to act in your best interests and to keep you safe.
Sometimes a third party with a vested interest will attempt to convince you that you should follow their advice. For instance, the selling agent may claim to be helping by claiming that your solicitor is wrong. Or your mortgage broker may try to convince you to do take action that is contrary to your conveyancers advice. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the home moving process.
Will my conveyancing lawyers need to check that the building insurance for my purchase of a house in Acton. My lender is Virgin
Virgin have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 8/6/2025, the requirements read as follows :
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and found one round the corner in Acton I like with amenity areas and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Acton in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
If you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will be problematic. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this.
Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold flat in Acton. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Acton who previously acted has now retired. What should I do?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Acton conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such issues? Can you recommend a Acton conveyancing firm to help?
in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the price payable.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Acton residence is 4 Woodhurst Road in July 2013. The Tribunals valuation for the premium to be paid in respect of the collective enfranchisement was £51,050. This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired term was 63.75 years.
I have checked your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the bank conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the mortgage company approved panel. How can I be sure given that they are not listed on your directory?
Not all firms are yet listed on our lender panel search tool which is still relatively new. Law firms are listing on a daily basis and it is probably the case that your lawyer is on the bank conveyancing lawyer and you should probably take them at their word. Please do feel free to suggest that they completing their listing on our site as it would only cost them £1 a month to list themselves as being on the mortgage company solicitor panel.