I am selling my home in South Harrow. Does my lawyer need to be on the Lloyds conveyancing panel in order to deal with repayment of my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Lloyds conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their panel criteria fairly frequently in recent years.
When it comes to lenders such as Nationwide, do South Harrow solicitors incur an annual charge to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are not aware of any mortgage company fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
is it true that all South Harrow solicitor firms on the RBS conveyancing panel are overseen by the SRA?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the RBS conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of lenders do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the practice would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
Two weeks ago we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Clydesdale. South Harrow conveyancing lawyers have been instructed. How long does it take for Clydesdale to send the offer to the lawyer?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Clydesdale done the survey? Have you informed Clydesdale as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.
I'm purchasing a new build house in South Harrow benefiting from help to buy. The builders would not budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The estate agent told me not inform my solicitor about this side-deal as it could adversely affect my loan with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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.
Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in South Harrow ahead of appointing conveyancers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the house. My surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will refuse to grant a mortgage on such a property.
It varies from the lender to lender. Santander has different instructions from Halifax. If you e-mail us we can check with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in South Harrow. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
Completion is due on our sale of a £200,000 garden flat in South Harrow next week. The management company has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in South Harrow?
South Harrow conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not necessitates the buyer’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so. They are at liberty to charge a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.
Following years of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in South Harrow. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to calculate the sum to be paid.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a South Harrow flat 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 was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 79 years.
I have just discovered that one of the partners of the firm acting on the purchase conveyancing in South Harrow is a relative of the owners that we are buying from. Is this permitted?
On the basis that there is no conflict of interest this is allowable. Where you are requiring a home loan then the lender may have a say as many lenders have specific instructions concerning this. For example for Halifax Loans as of 30/3/2026, the requirements read as follows :