I am buying a house without a mortgage in Harlesden. I have been living for the last dozen years in Harlesden. Conveyancing searches are a lot of money. Given that I know the road and vicinity intimately should I not bother getting the solicitor to do all the conveyancing searches?
If you not getting a mortgage, then the vast majority of the Harlesden conveyancing searches are optional. Your conveyancer will try and sway you, no-doubt strongly, that you should have searches carried out, but he is duty bound to take that path of advice. One thing to consider; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it will likely be be of relevance to your prospective purchaser what the searches determine. There are plenty of instances where houses with functional issues can still throw up unfavourable search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in Harlesden will provide you some sensible guidance here.
is it true that all Harlesden solicitor firms on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel are overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the SRA. Many mortgage companies do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the organisation would be overseen by the CLC.
It is unclear whether my lender requires a lease extension. I have telephoned my Harlesden bank branch on various occasions and was told it does not affect the mortgage offer and they would lend. My Harlesden conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they refuse to lend in accordance with their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. Who do I believe?
As long as the conveyancer is on the lender panel, she or he must follow the CML Handbook conditions for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company 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 mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
Nationwide have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on a property in Harlesden has been accepted, now what?
Your estate agent will need to know who your solicitors are (ensure that the property lawyers are on the lender’s approved list). Call up Nationwide or your financial adviser and finalise any relevant documentation. Nationwide will instruct a valuer who will get in contact with the estate agent or vendor to schedule a time for the valuation to take place. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes approximately a fortnight for the mortgage offer to be issued. Nationwide will send the offer to you and your lawyers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Harlesden.
Various online forums that I have come across warn that are the primary cause of obstruction in Harlesden conveyancing transactions. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the determinations of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the most frequent causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are not likely to be the root cause of delay in conveyancing in Harlesden.
My wife and I own a terraced Victorian property in Harlesden. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and HSBC Bank. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold under the matching address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Harlesden and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also enquire as to the situation with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the conveyancing.
I am buying my first flat in Harlesden with a mortgage from TSB. The builders would not budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not reveal to my lawyer about this extras as it may affect my mortgage with the bank. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
We are midway through purchasing a property in Harlesden. Conveyancing solicitor has phoned to say the property is "Leasehold". Will this likely adversely affect the salability of the house?
Harlesden conveyancing does not in most situations involve leasehold houses. The crucial factor here is the remaining lease term and the ground rent. If it's 999 years with a peppercorn rent, it's essentially freehold, so it shouldn't impact the saleability significantly.
At the other extreme, if it's, say, fifty five years it is bound to have a material impact on the saleability, and most likely wouldn't be acceptable to the mortgage company. The length of lease and ground rent will be specified in the lease provided to your conveyancer.