We are about to exchange contracts for a freehold house in Harold Wood. We have hit a snag. Our loan offer with National Westminster Bank runs out on 2/2/2026 but the vendors are insisting on a completion date of 4/2/2026. Can one prolong the mortgage expiry date?
The best person to deal with your concern is your lawyer who should determine whether he or she is corresponding with the mortgage company, seller’s conveyancers, property agents or conceivably all parties given the circumstances your conveyancing as of today.
How can we tell if a Harold Wood conveyancing solicitor on the Leeds Building Society panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Harold Wood getting recommendations is a good start. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always advocate that you speak with the lawyer carrying out your conveyancing.
I have paid off my mortgage with Virgin Money. I assume I don't need a Harold Wood property lawyer on the Virgin Money panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Virgin Money mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Virgin Money mortgage from the register. Virgin Money, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Virgin Money has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Virgin Money has instructed the Land Registry to do so
Planning on purchasing a house in Harold Wood. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the TSB conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Harold Wood property lawyer is on the TSB conveyancing panel.
Will my lawyer be asking questions regarding flooding during the conveyancing in Harold Wood.
Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors specialising in conveyancing in Harold Wood. Some people will purchase a property in Harold Wood, completely aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical damage, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or dispose of the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.
Lawyers are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a various searches that may be initiated by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which will give them a better appreciation of the risks in Harold Wood. The conventional set of information sent to a buyer’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a usual inquiry of the seller to discover if the premises has ever been flooded. In the event that the premises has been flooded in past and is not notified by the vendor, then a purchaser could issue a compensation claim as a result of such an misleading reply. The buyer’s solicitors should also carry out an environmental search. This will indicate if there is any known flood risk. If so, additional inquiries will need to be carried out.
My wife and I purchased a 4 bedroom Victorian property in Harold Wood. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Leeds Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You need to 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 proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Harold Wood 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 buyers. You can also enquire as to the position with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.
I am purchasing my first flat in Harold Wood benefiting from help to buy. The developers would not budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The house builders rep told me not to tell my solicitor about this extras as it would adversely affect my mortgage with Platform Home Loans Ltd. 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 was advised by numerous selling agents in Harold Wood to locate a solicitor on your site. Is there a financial incentive for Estate Agents to recommend your services over and above a competitor’s?
We don’t offer any financial incentive for sending work our way. We thought it would be too underhand a fee because members of the public would think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.