My bank has suggested a law firm on their panel based in Barnet but I would rather instruct a conveyancing lawyer in Barnet or nearer to where I live. Can you help?
The minority of Barnet conveyancing practitioners are on all banks conveyancing panel. Use our find an approved solicitor tool to identify a Barnet conveyancing firm on the on the bank panel.
After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Barnet. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their conveyancing practitioner. I paid an on account payment of £175. A few days later, the conveyancing practitioner contacted me to say that they were not on the TSB conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the TSB panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
RBS have agreed my mortgage in principle, my bid on a house in Barnet has been agreed to, now what?
The property agent will wish to know who your solicitors are (be sure the lawyers are on the bank’s panel). Telephone RBS or your financial adviser and finish off any outstanding documentation. RBS will appoint a valuer who will get in touch with the selling agent or owners to schedule a time for the valuation to occur. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes approximately a fortnight to receive the mortgage offer. RBS will issue the offer to you and your conveyancing practitioners. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Barnet.
My offer on a property in Barnet has been agreed to, the sellers do nevertheless have a connected purchase. The owners have offered on on an apartment, but it’s not yet agreed to, and are looking at other apartments booked. I have chosen a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in Barnet. What do I do now? At what stage do I apply for the mortgage with Virgin Money?
It is normal to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses too early (mortgage application is in the region of £1k, then valuation, Barnet conveyancing search fees, etc). First, you must check that your lawyer is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. Concerning the subsequent steps this very much dictated by the specifics of your transaction, attraction to this property and on the state of the market. In a rising market some home buyers would apply for the mortgage with Virgin Money and pay for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they ask their conveyancer to press on with searches.
I used Arc property Solicitors several years past for my conveyancing in Barnet. I now require my papers but the law firm has closed. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Barnet of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
Just had an offer accepted on a new build apartment in Barnet. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.
Here are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Barnet
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There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme.
I am looking for a flat up to £305k and found one round the corner in Barnet I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, however it only has 52 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Barnet for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?
Should you require a mortgage that many years will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you may ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.
What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Barnet conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?
If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Barnet conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggest that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Barnet conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions could be of use:
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Can they put you in touch with clients in Barnet who can give a testimonial?
I am the registered owner of a ground-floor 1950’s flat in Barnet. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum due for a lease extension?
Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the premium.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Barnet residence is Flat 2 2 Netherfield Road in April 2010. The Tribunale held that premium payable for a 90 year extension to the existing Lease should be £7,705. This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 76 years.
