It is is a decade since I purchased my house in Hillingdon. Conveyancing solicitors have recently been instructed on the sale but I can't track down the title deeds. Will this jeopardise the sale?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly there is a chance that the deeds will be kept by your lender or they could be in the possession of the lawyers who acted in the purchase. Secondly in most cases the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers procuring up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Hillingdon relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your property is unregistered it is more tricky but is not insurmountable.
This question may be naive but I am new to the process as a 1st time purchaser of a ground floor flat in Hillingdon. Do I pick up the keys to the house on completion from my lawyer? If this is the case, I will appoint a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Hillingdon?
On the day of completion you do not need to attend the conveyancers office in Hillingdon. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the completion advance to the vendor’s solicitors, and once they have received this, you will be called to pick up the keys from the selling Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this occurs early afternoon.
We expect to receive a DIP from Co-operative this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Co-operative recommend any Hillingdon solicitors on the Co-operative conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?
You will need to appoint Hillingdon solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Co-operative through the process.
I have instructed a Hillingdon solicitor having made sure that they are on the Santander conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Santander will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Santander will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Hillingdon surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
A friend suggested that where I am buying in Hillingdon I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is occasionally included in the estimate for your Hillingdon conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Hillingdon around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Hillingdon Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Hillingdon Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information regarding Hillingdon.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on two weeks back in what should have been a simple, no chain conveyancing. Hillingdon is the location of the property. Is there any guidance you can impart?
Flying freeholds in Hillingdon are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Hillingdon you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Hillingdon may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Hillingdon which have in the region of forty five years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?
There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Hillingdon is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Hillingdon conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.
I have given up trying to purchase the freehold in Hillingdon. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to make a decision on the price.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Hillingdon 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 unexpired term was 69 years.
I acquired a property in Hillingdon last 3/3/2025 and to date it is still not recorded with the Land Registry. It is part of a new estate and my solicitor told me that it can take twelve months to complete the registration formalities. I have called HMLR directly and they have informed me the original application was cancelled due to failure to reply to requisitions. What can I do?
Call your property lawyer - Where you are unsatisfied with the responses, look up their internal complaints protocol and escalate your concerns to a Complaints Manager. Registrations for Hillingdon conveyancing are not known to be significantly delayed.