Me and my fiance are purchasing a 2 bedroom apartment in Barons Court with a mortgage. We like our Barons Court conveyancer, however the lender says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel conveyancing practices or retain our Barons Court solicitor and pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. This feels very unfair; are we not able to require that the bank use our Barons Court solicitor ?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose 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. A further alternative is for your Barons Court conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
As someone unfamiliar with the Barons Court conveyancing process what’s the number one tip you can give me for the ownership transfer in Barons Court
Not many law firms or advisers will tell you this but conveyancing in Barons Court and elsewhere in West London is an adversarial process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there is plenty of opportunity for conflict between you and other parties involved in the ownership transfer. E.g., the vendor, property agent and even potentially your lender. Choosing a solicitor for your conveyancing in Barons Court is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY party in the transaction whose responsibility is to act in your legal interests and to keep you safe.
Every so often a potential adversary will try and sway you that you should follow their advice. As an example, the estate agent may claim to be assisting by suggesting your lawyer is slow. Or your mortgage broker may try to convince you to do take action that is against your lawyers guidance. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the home moving process.
My brother-in-law has suggested I instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Barons Court. I I am struggling to find out if they are accepted on the Nationwide Building Society approved list of lawyers. Can you assist?
You should contact your lawyer and ask them if they can act for the lender. Alternatively you should call Nationwide Building Society who may be able to assist.
We are planning to move house in May. Will my conveyancing solicitor call the removal company on the completion day. As an aside, can you put forward a removal company in Barons Court. Conveyancing lawyer was chosen prior to coming across your website.
On the afternoon of completion you can collect the keys from the selling agent however this should only occur after the sellers lawyers confirm to the agent that they have the completion monies and the keys can be released. Subsequently you will need to advise the removal men that they can start moving you in. We do not recommend a particular removal company but can assist you in finding a conveyancing in Barons Court or a solicitor with expertise in conveyancing in Barons Court.
When it comes to lenders such as Bank of Ireland, do Barons Court lawyers face a yearly amount to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are not aware of any lender fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
We are getting the release of further funds on our mortgage from RBS as we want to conduct renovations to our house in Barons Court. Do we need to appoint a high street Barons Court solicitor on the RBS conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?
RBS don't usually appoint a member of their conveyancing panel to handle the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the RBS list.
In my capacity as executor for the will of my uncle I am disposing of a house in Neath but I am based in Barons Court. My conveyancer (approximately 200 miles from meneeds me to sign a stat dec before the transaction finalising. Could you suggest a conveyancing solicitor in Barons Court who can witness and place their company stamp on the document?
strictly speaking you are not likely to be required to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally or notary public or qualified solicitor will do regardless of whether they are Barons Court based
Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Barons Court with the aim of speeding up the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Barons Court can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers’ representatives. If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Barons Court home move. If a duplicate share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Barons Court state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. If you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor first. If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled. You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.
After years of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Barons Court. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Barons Court conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Barons Court premises is 19 Crisp Road in June 2009. Following a vesting order (Under section 26 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act 1993) The tribunal determined that the premium payable for the acquisition of the freehold was £33,756,apportioned as to£12,285 for the lower at and £21,471for the upper fat. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 68.32 years.