My lawyer in West London is not on the HSBC Bank Approved Panel. Is it possible for me to use my prefered solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the HSBC Bank panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
The limited options open to you here include:
- Complete the purchase with your preferred West London lawyers but HSBC Bank will need to retain a solicitor on their panel. This will result in additional overall conveyancing charges as well as result in delays.
- Get an alternative lawyer to to deal with the conveyancing, obviously checking they are on the HSBC Bank panel
I used Stirling Law a few years ago for my conveyancing in West London. I now require my papers however the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing 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 West London of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and found one near me in West London I like with open areas and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 52 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in West London for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the property for at least twenty four months you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
I'm remortgaging my existing home to a BTL loan with Nationwide Building Society and intend to use the remaining equity towards another property. The area we are talking about is West London. Will your solicitors be able to act for both sets of lenders and link together the transactions?
Do use our comparison tool on this site to ensure that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panels. Assuming that they are your solicitor should be able to tie up the two transactions but you should have a chat with you conveyancer and communicate your desired outcome and needs.
I have recently realised that I have 62 years left on my lease in West London. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?
If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing West London.
Notwithstanding our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in West London. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to assess the amount due.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a West London flat is 137 & 139 Haberdasher Street in December 2013. The Tribunal determines in accordance with section 48 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease for each Property should be £12,350.00. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 72.39 years.
Do all mortgage companies provide you with an approved list of West London solicitors? How do you know who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel?
West London firms and firms conducting conveyancing in West London themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the lender conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from the mortgage company directly.