My partner and I are intent on buying a ground floor flat in Kensington. My Conveyancer has never been on on the lender conveyancing panel. Am I still permitted to retain my Kensington conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the mortgage company panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
Your options include
- Proceed with your existing Kensington conveyancer but your mortgage company will need to retain a conveyancing practitioner from their approved panel. The net result is additional fees together with potential interruption.
- Appoint a fresh lawyer to conduct the conveyancing, obviously checking they are on the bank conveyancing panel.
- Convince your solicitor to pull out all the stops to get accepted on the mortgage company conveyancing panel
This question may be naive but I am new to the house moving as FTB of a garden flat in Kensington. Do I collect the keys to the property on completion from my solicitor? If so, I will instruct a local conveyancing solicitor in Kensington?
On the day of completion you do not need to attend the conveyancers office in Kensington. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the purchase money to the vendor’s conveyancers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you should be invited to pick up the keys from the selling Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen early afternoon.
We are aiming to move house in October. Should my conveyancing solicitor liaise with the removal company on the day of completion. On a separate note, can you suggest a removal company in Kensington. Conveyancing lawyer was organised prior to coming across this site.
On the afternoon of completion you can pick up the house keys from your estate agent but this can only be done after the sellers solicitors confirm to the agent that they have the completion monies and the keys can be collected. After that you should tell the removal men that they can start moving you in. We do not recommend a specific removal organisation but can assist you in choosing a conveyancing in Kensington or a solicitor with expertise in conveyancing in Kensington.
We had chosen conveyancers locally in Kensington on the UBS solicitor panel. They have just invoiced me a separate fee for handling the UBS mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set by UBS?
Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your solicitor may levy a fee for this. This fee is not dictated by UBS but by your Kensington solicitor. Some firms on the UBS panel will quote an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
My partner and I are planning on selling our home in Kensington and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being built land that was not decontaminated. A high street Kensington conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers are using a web based conveyancing outfit as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Kensington. We have lived in Kensington for 5 years we know of no issue. Should we get in touch with our local Authority to seek confirmation need.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. What do they say? You must enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same ailment)
How does conveyancing in Kensington differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Kensington come to us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is ready to move into. This is because builders in Kensington typically buy the real estate, 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 Kensington or who has acted in the same development.
I decided to have a survey carried out on a property in Kensington prior to retaining solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. My surveyor has said that some lenders will refuse to issue a mortgage on a flying freehold premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different instructions from Nationwide. If you e-mail us we can check via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Kensington. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
My partner has recommend that I use his lawyers for conveyancing in Kensington. Should I choose my own property lawyer?
No doubt the ideal way to find a conveyancing lawyer is to have guidance from friends or relatives who have actually used the conveyancer that you are considering.