I am progressing with the sale of my flat in Kingsbury and the EA has just text me to warn that the purchasers are switching property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major mortgage company only deal with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Kingsbury ?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in recent years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.
Mortgage companies justify this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The buyers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
The owners of the home we are looking to purchase hired a conveyancing solicitor in Kingsbury who has suggested a preliminary contract with a down payment of 5k. Is it wise to enter into such agreements?
Lock out agreements are contracts between a home owner and prospective buyer giving the buyer exclusive rights to the sale of the property within an agreed time frame. Essentially, a lock out agreement is a contract specifying that you should have a contract at a later time being the main conveyancing contract. It tends to be utilised for buyer confidence though in some cases, the seller may enjoy an upside from such agreements as well. There are many positives and negatives to having them but you should to check with your solicitor but beware that it may result in costing you more in conveyancing fees. For this these agreements are rare when it comes to conveyancing in Kingsbury.
I purchased a freehold residence in Kingsbury yet pay rent, why is this and what is this?
It’s unusual for properties in Kingsbury and has limited impact for conveyancing in Kingsbury but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges have existed for many centuries, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the establishment of new rentcharges post 1977.
Previous rentcharges can now be redeemed by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence in 2037 is to be extinguished.
This question may be naive but I am unseasoned as a 1st time purchaser of a garden flat in Kingsbury. Do I collect the keys to the house on the completion date from my lawyer? If this is the case, I will find a local conveyancing solicitor in Kingsbury?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Conveyancing lawyers for you will transfer the completion advance to the seller's conveyancers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be able to pick up the keys from the Estate Agents and move into your new home. Usually this occurs early afternoon.
My aunt pointed out to me me that in buying a property in Kingsbury there could be various restrictions preventing external alterations to the property. Is this right?
We are aware of a number of properties in Kingsbury which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external alterations. Part of the conveyancing in Kingsbury should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
We previously instructed conveyancers with offices in Kingsbury on the Kent Reliance solicitor panel. They are now charging me an additional charge for handling the Kent Reliance mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Kent Reliance?
Unfortunately, so long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your property lawyer is entitled to levy a fee for this. The charge is not dictated by Kent Reliance but by your Kingsbury conveyancing practitioner. Plenty of firms on the Kent Reliance panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee but some firms incorporate it on their overall fee.
I am purchasing my first flat in Kingsbury with a loan from Lloyds TSB Bank. The builders would not reduce the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent advised me not to tell my lawyer about the deal as it may affect my mortgage with the lender. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I am looking into buying my first house which is in Kingsbury and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Kingsbury. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Kingsbury area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?
Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Kingsbury. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found