I am not in a position to travel far from West London. What is the rationale as to why all West London conveyancers aren't automatically on all mortgage company panels?
Lenders tend to restrict either the type or the number of conveyancing practices on their panel. A common example of such criteria being that the firm is required to have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some lenders made a decision to limit the size of their panel they use to act for them. You should note that lenders have no liability for the accuracy of service provided by any West London property lawyer on their approved list. Increases in mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago even though there are differing thoughts about whether solicitors sat at the center of that fraud. Statistics published by the Land Registry exposes that thousands of conveyancing firms only transact one or two conveyances annually. Those advocating conveyancing panel consolidation ask why law firms deserve any entitlement to be listed on a lender panel when it is apparent that property law is not their speciality?
A colleague pointed out to me me that in buying a property in West London there could be various restrictions prohibiting external alterations to the property. Is this right?
There are anumerous of properties in West London which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to external variations. Part of the conveyancing in West London should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in West London. I have a mortgage offer with Lloyds. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Lloyds, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Lloyds conveyancing panel.
My offer on a property in West London has been agreed to, the owners do however have a tied purchase. The owners have offered on somewhere, however it’s not yet tied up, and have viewings of other flats in the pipeline. I have instructed a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in West London. What do I do now? When should I get the mortgage application with Co-operative started?
It is normal to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs prematurely (mortgage application is approx one thousand pounds, then survey, West London conveyancing search costs, etc). The first thing to do is check that your conveyancing practitioner is on the Co-operative approved list. As to the subsequent steps this very much depends on the specifics of your case, attraction to this property and on the state of the market. In a buoyant market many purchasers would apply for a home loan with Co-operative and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their lawyer to move forward with the conveyancing in West London.
Me and my brother own a renovated Georgian house in West London. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Coventry Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You should read 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 owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in West London and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the conveyancing.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £245,000 and found one round the corner in West London I like with open areas and station nearby, the downside is that it only has 51 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in West London in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.
Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in West London from the perspective of expediting the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in West London can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors. A minority of West London leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers. You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a West London home move. If a new share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
I own a garden flat in West London. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount payable for a lease extension?
in cases where there is a missing landlord or where there is disagreement 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 arrive at the amount due.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a West London property 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 related to 2 flats. The unexpired term was 72.39 years.
To what extent are West London conveyancing solicitors under an obligation to the Law Society to issue transparent conveyancing figures?
Contained within the Solicitors Code of Conduct are specific rules and regulations as to how the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) allow solicitors to publicise their charges to clients.The Law Society have practice note giving advice on how to publicise transparent charges to avoid breaching any such rule. Practice notes are not legal advice issued by the Law Society and is not intended as the only standard of good practice a conveyancing solicitor should adhere to. The Practice Note does, nevertheless, constitute the Law Society’s view of acceptable practice for publicising conveyancing charges, and accordingly it’s a recommended read for any solicitor or conveyancer in West London or beyond.