My fiance and I are planning to purchase a home in Highgate and are in fact using a Highgate conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Barclays Direct have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Highgate lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Highgate lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
Can you explain why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Highgate costs more?
In short, leasehold conveyancing in Highgate and elsewhere usually involve more hours of investigation compared to freehold conveyancing. This includes reviewing the lease, communicating with the landlord about serving applicable notices, obtaining up-to-date service charge and management information, procuring the freeholder’s consents and reviewing management accounts. The obligations on both the landlord and the tenant in the lease need to be studied by the buyer’s conveyancing team and read from beginning to end – regardless of the fact the lease has passed through many different property solicitors hands since it was first entered into.
I used Arc property Solicitors a few years ago for my conveyancing in Highgate. Now, I need the documents but the law firm has closed. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate 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 Highgate 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.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Highgate. Conveyancing is a frightening process 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 conveyancing.
Set out below is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Highgate
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Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision.
Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Highgate in advance of appointing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. My surveyor advised that some lenders tend refuse to issue a mortgage on this type of home.
It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different requirements for example to Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can investigate further via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Highgate. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Highgate to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
Is it possible to transfer to a new solicitor as I need to select one who is on the Lloyds TSB Bank conveyancing panel. I had appointed a family conveyancing solicitor in Highgate round the corner but she is not accepted by Lloyds TSB Bank
It would be our pleasure to help you find a conveyancing solicitor in Highgate on the Lloyds TSB Bank panel. Please note that the law firms that we on the directory do not pay us commission if you instruct them and are registered with the SRA who regulate all conveyancing solicitors in Highgate. In making use of the find a conveyancing solicitor tool on this website, you can compare and instruct different solicitors and conveyancers both nationally and in Highgate.