It is 10 years ago since I bought my house in Harlington. Conveyancing lawyers have just been retained on the sale but I can't track down my deeds. Is this a major issue?
You need not be too concerned. First there is a possibility that the deeds will be with the lender or they may stored with the solicitor who handled your purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the land will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors procuring current official copies of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Harlington involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it is more tricky but is resolvable.
I happen to be the sole recipient of my late father’s estate with all property in now in my sole name, including the my former home in Harlington. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in January. I now wish to sell up. I understand that there is a CML six month 'rule', which means that my property ownership may be treated the same way as if I'd bought the property in January. Do I have to wait half a year to sell?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook requires conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you could be impacted by that. How sensible a view lenders take of it, depend on the mortgage company as this obligation is principally there to identify the purchase and immediately sell or the quick reselling of property.
Can you point me to a directory of Virgin Money panel solicitors in Harlington on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?
No. There is no such facility on the CML or Building Society Association websites. A small selection of banks make their panel listings open the public over the internet. If you are in need of a Harlington conveyancing practitioner on the Virgin Money please use our facility.
My offer on a property in Harlington has been accepted, but there is a chain. The sellers have offered on somewhere, but it’s not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other apartments in the pipeline. I have instructed a local conveyancing solicitor in Harlington. What do I do now? At what point do I apply for the mortgage with Principality?
It is normal to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs too early (home loan application is approx one thousand pounds, then survey, Harlington conveyancing search costs, etc). First, you must check that your conveyancing practitioner is on the Principality conveyancing panel. Concerning the next stages this very much dictated by the uniqueness of your transaction, desire for the property and on the state of the market. During a rising market many home buyers would apply for the mortgage with Principality and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they ask their solicitor to press on with searches.
I used Arc property Solicitors several years ago for my conveyancing in Harlington. I now require my file however the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Harlington of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a quick, chain free conveyancing. Harlington is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Harlington are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Harlington you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Harlington may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.
As co-executor for the estate of my aunt I am disposing of a residence in Cardiff but I am based in Harlington. My solicitor (who is 260 miles from mehas requested that I sign a stat dec ahead of the transaction finalising. Can you recommend a conveyancing solicitor in Harlington to witness this legal document for me?
strictly speaking you should not need to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or qualified solicitor will do regardless of whether they are based in Harlington
There are a lot of properties in Harlington on private roads. I am purchasing one such house. Are there any advantages to purchasing a house on a private road?
Harlington conveyancing firms are well versed in transacting propertieson private. The conveyancing practitioner will investigate title to identify any rights or liabilities. It is possible that there is a management company (wholly owned by residents) that proprietors pay into for the upkeep of the road. If one exists, the road should be maintained and appear better than publicly maintained.