I am in the process of selling my apartment in Harlington and the estate agent has just text me to advise that the buyers are appointing a new conveyancer. The excuse is that the bank will only work with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a big named mortgage company only engage with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Harlington ?
Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as Nationwide, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.
Banks blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.
How does conveyancing in Harlington differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Harlington contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is finished. This is because house builders in Harlington usually purchase the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Harlington or who has acted in the same development.
I'm remortgaging my current property to a buy to let mortgage with Platform Home Loans Ltd and intend to use the remaining equity towards another house. The area we are looking at is Harlington. Will your lawyers be able to act for the two banks and tie in the two deals?
Make use of our comparison tool on this site to ensure that the solicitors are approved by both mortgage companies. Assuming that they are the solicitor should be able to simultaneously deal with the two deals but you should talk with you conveyancer and make clear your expectations and needs.
Is it best to use a Harlington conveyancing practitioner who is local to the property I am hoping to buy? I have an old university friend who can handle the legal work but his firm is located 400miles drive away.
The primary upside of using a high street Harlington conveyancing practice is that you can attend the office to execute documents, deliver your ID and apply pressure on them where appropriate. They will also have local intelligence which is a plus. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who used your friend and in the main were impressed that should surpass using an unknown Harlington conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being Harlington based.
I've recently bought a leasehold property in Harlington. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
Having spent months of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Harlington. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
Where there is a missing landlord or where 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 First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to calculate the premium.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Harlington residence is 164 Nestles Avenue in October 2013. The tribunal agreed with the proposed price of £20,158 for the freehold and determined that that sum is the amount to be paid into court This case related to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 69 years.
Having used your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the mortgage company conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the bank 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 mortgage company 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 lender solicitor panel.