My fiance and I are looking to buy a home in West Harrow and are in fact using a West Harrow conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. TSB have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our West Harrow solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred West Harrow lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
Last May we completed a house move in West Harrow. We have since encountered a number of problems with the house which we believe were missed in the conveyancing searches. What action can we take? What searches should? have been carried out as part of conveyancing in West Harrow?
The query is vague as to the nature of the problems and if they are unique to conveyancing in West Harrow. Conveyancing searches and investigations initiated as part of the buying process are designed to help avoid problems. As part of the process, the vendor answers a form referred to as a SPIF. If the information is inaccurate, you could possibly take legal action against the seller for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in West Harrow.
We are purchasing a house and the conveyancer has mentioned Chancel Repair for which the property may be obligated to pay because it falls into the area of such a church. He has suggested insurance. Is this strictly warranted for conveyancing in West Harrow
Unless a previous purchase of the property took place post 12 October 2013 you may expect lawyers handling conveyancing in West Harrow to remain recommending a chancel search and or chancel repair liability policy.
I purchased a terraced Victorian house in West Harrow. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and HSBC Bank. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be 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 West Harrow and other locations in 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 purchasers. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.
I am 18 days into a residential purchase having been referred to conveyancers by the estate agent to execute conveyancing in West Harrow. I am not happy. Can you help me find new lawyers?
They would have to be really bad to suggest changing them. Has the mortgage offer been sent? In the event that it has you must advise them of the replacement solicitor and have the mortgage documents are re-issued. Your new conveyancer should be on the lenders approved list to avoid supplemental charges and delays. So that should be your starting point. The search tool will assist you in finding a lender approved conveyancer for your home move in West Harrow
Two months into a sale of a flat in West Harrow. Conveyancing is fine but we have been asked to pay a fortune by the managing agents. So far we have issued a cheque for £268 for a leasehold management information and then another £134.40 for answers to questions supplied by the purchaser's conveyancing practitioner.
You will not have control over the extent of the fee for this information but the average fee for the information for West Harrow leasehold property is £355. When it comes to West Harrow conveyancing deals it is standard for the owner to pay for these charges. The landlord or their agents are not duty bound to address these questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at high prices disproportionate to the work involved. Regretfully there is no statute that mandates fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are duty bound to supply answers.