I am refinancing my property in Ealing, does my lawyer have to be on the HSBC Conveyancing panel?
In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on the HSBC conveyancing panel, but HSBC would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same transaction.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unexperienced as a first time purchaser of a garden flat in Ealing. Do I receive the keys to the house on the completion date from my lawyer? If so, I will appoint a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Ealing?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will transfer the completion advance to the owner’s lawyers, and once they have received this, you will be able to collect the keys from the property Agents and move into your new home. Usually this happens early afternoon.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with TSB. I assume I don't need a Ealing solicitor on the TSB panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your TSB mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the TSB mortgage from the register. TSB, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where TSB has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- TSB has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I can not fathom if my bank obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called my Ealing bank branch on various occasions and was told it does not impact the mortgage offer and they will lend. My Ealing conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they refuse to lend based on their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. Who do I believe?
Provided that the lawyer is on the mortgage company panel, she or he must comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook conditions for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
We are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our house in Ealing and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was constructed on contaminated land. Any high street Ealing conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers are using a nationwide conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Ealing. Having lived in Ealing for six years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to get in touch with our local Authority to obtain clarification that there is no issue.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. What do they say? You need to check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same illness)
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up during conveyancing in Ealing?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Ealing. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Ealing before retaining lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. My surveyor advised that some lenders tend refuse to issue a mortgage on this type of property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. If you contact us we can look into this further via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Ealing. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Ealing especially if they are familiar with such properties in Ealing.
My husband and I are a couple of weeks into a leasehold purchase having been recommend to a firm by the selling agent to carry out the conveyancing in Ealing. I am not happy. Can you you assist me in finding new solicitors?
A solicitor would have to be very poor to suggest diss instructing them. Has the loan offer been sent? In the event that it has you need to advise them of the new contact details and ensure the offer are issued to the new lawyers. Your new conveyancer should be on the mortgage company panel to avoid escalating fees and complications. That should be your first question of the new lawyers. The find a solicitor tool can assist you in finding a lender approved conveyancer for your conveyancing in Ealing