I have just been advised by my mortgage broker that my Hillingdon the law firm I have appointed is not on the mortgage company Conveyancing panel. What can I do to be sure whether this is correct?
Your first step should be to call your Hillingdon lawyer directly. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to notify you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the approved list of lawyers for your mortgage company.
I am purchasing a house for cash in Hillingdon. I have lived for the last 15 years in Hillingdon. Conveyancing searches are exorbitant. As I have knowledge of the road and vicinity very well should I not bother getting the solicitor to do all the conveyancing searches?
Provided that you do not need a home loan, then almost all of the Hillingdon conveyancing searches are at your discretion. Your conveyancer will ’encourage you, perhaps strongly, that you should have searches done, but she is duty bound to do this. Do consider; if you are intend to sell the house one day, it may be of relevance to your prospective purchaser what the searches contain. There are plenty of instances where premises with no practical issues can still reveal adverse search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in Hillingdon will provide you some helpful advice here.
Our lender has suggested a law firm on their panel based in Hillingdon but I would rather choose a conveyancing lawyer in Hillingdon or nearer to where I live. Can you help?
The minority of Hillingdon conveyancing firms are approved and listed on all lender’s conveyancing panel. Use the above find an approved solicitor tool to identify a Hillingdon conveyancing firm on the on the mortgage company panel.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my house can not be found. The conveyancers who handled the conveyancing in Hillingdon 10 years ago are no longer around. What do I do?
In today’s world there are copies made of almost everything, and your conveyancer will be aware precisely where to look for all the suitable paperwork so you can purchase or dispose of your house without any difficulty. Where duplicates can’t be located, your conveyancer can put in place insurance or indemnities against future claims on the premises.
How does conveyancing in Hillingdon differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Hillingdon come to us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is built. This is because builders in Hillingdon 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Hillingdon or who has acted in the same development.
Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Hillingdon with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hillingdon can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers’ solicitors. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Hillingdon leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you fail to have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand. You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale. If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled. A minority of Hillingdon leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Hillingdon conveyancing firm to help?
in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the sum to be paid.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Hillingdon premises 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 number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 69 years.