My fiance and I are hoping to buy a flat in West London and have appointed a West London conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Coventry Building Society have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our West London solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own West London solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Why do I have to pay up front for conveyancing in West London?
Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in West London your solicitor will request that you to provide them with monies to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. This will be the total of the cost of the conveyancing searches. If any deposit is as part of the sale price then this should be required immediately before exchange of contracts. The closing balance that is needed should be sent to your lawyer a couple of days prior to the day of completion.
What happens if my lawyer’s firm is suspended from the UBS Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in West London?
First, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.
Will my solicitor be asking questions about flooding as part of the conveyancing in West London.
Flooding is a growing risk for lawyers dealing with homes in West London. There are those who purchase a property in West London, completely aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Lawyers are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, however there are a number of checks that may be initiated by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which should give them a better appreciation of the risks in West London. The conventional set of information supplied to a buyer’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) contains a usual inquiry of the owner to determine if the property has ever been flooded. In the event that the residence has been flooded in past which is not notified by the seller, then a buyer may commence a legal claim for losses as a result of such an inaccurate reply. A buyer’s conveyancers should also carry out an environmental report. This will higlight if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, more detailed investigations should be conducted.
Just acquired a semi-detached house in West London , how long should it take for the Land Registry to register my ownership? My West London conveyancing solicitor works at snail pace, so I want to check the registration formalities are concluded.
As far as conveyancing in West London is concerned, registration is no faster or slower than anywhere else in England and Wales. Rather than based on location, timescales can differ according to who lodges the application, whether there are errors and if the Land registry need to notify any third parties. As of today roughly three quarters of such applications are completed in less than three weeks but occasionally there can be extensive hold-ups. Historically registration is effected once the buyer is living at the premises so post completion formalities is not usually primary concern but if it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your solicitor must speak with the land registry and explain the circumstances.
Back In 2002, I bought a leasehold house in West London. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in West London who previously acted has long since retired. What should I do?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a West London conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
Following months of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in West London. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a West London conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a West London premises 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 remaining number of years on the lease was 72.39 years.