we are a couple who wish to acquire a newly converted apartment in South Harrow with a loan from Godiva Mortgages Ltd.We use our South Harrow conveyancing practitioner but Godiva Mortgages Ltd says her practice is not listed on their approved list of member firms. It seems we have no choice but to instruct a Godiva Mortgages Ltd panel firm or keep our local solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that Godiva Mortgages Ltd use our lawyer?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you contains various provisions, a common one being that conveyancers needs to be on the Godiva Mortgages Ltd conveyancing panel. in the past, most mortgage companies had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could find one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Godiva Mortgages Ltd
I own a terraced Edwardian house in South Harrow. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the matching address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in South Harrow and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also enquire as to the position with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the work.
I am looking into buying my first house which is in South Harrow and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about South Harrow. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the South Harrow area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?
Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at South Harrow. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found
I have been sourcing a conveyancing practitioner in South Harrow for my purchase. Is there any facility to review a solicitor's complaints history with the legal regulator?
Members of the public can read documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions stemming from investigations started on or after 1 January 2008. Go to Check a solicitor's record. To find information about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's history, phone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For non-uk callers, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA could recorded telephone calls for training reasons.
I have just started marketing my basement apartment in South Harrow. Conveyancing is yet to be initiated, however I have recently received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?
It best that you pay the service charge as you normally would because all rents and service payments will be apportioned on completion, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.
Notwithstanding our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in seeking a lease extension in South Harrow. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
in cases where there is a absentee landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the premium.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a South Harrow property is GFF 1 Holyrood Avenue in May 2014. The Tenant wished to acquire a new (extended) lease and applied to the Willesden County Court who granted a vesting order on 20* March2013. The Tribunal decied that the premium to be paid was £9,062 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 79 years.
I need to switch lawyers as my South Harrow lawyer is not on the mortgage company's panel of conveyancing solicitors. Is it advisable to appoint a new law firm?
If you haven't yet appointed a conveyancer to commence the conveyancing and at this stage simply received quotes, you're perfectly free to choose a different solicitor to carry out your work for you. The best way is to get recommendations from friends or family who have actually used the solicitor or conveyancer in South Harrow that you're considering.