As someone unfamiliar with conveyancing in Willesden what is the number one tip you can give me concerning the house moving process in Willesden
You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Willesden or throughout North West London is often a confrontational process. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there exists lots of opportunity for confrontation between you and others involved in the legal transfer of property. For example, the seller, selling agent and even potentially a bank. Appointing a law firm for your conveyancing in Willesden should not be taken lightly as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE party in the legal process whose interest is to look after your best interests and to protect you.
We are witnessing a distinct emergence of a "blame" culture- someone has to be blamed for the process taking so long. We recommend that you must always trust your conveyancer ahead of the other parties when it comes to the legal transfer of property.
My bank has recommended solicitors on their panel based in Willesden but I would rather instruct a conveyancing lawyer in Willesden round the corner to me. Can you help?
Not all Willesden conveyancing firms are approved and listed on all banks conveyancing panel. Use our search tool to identify a Willesden conveyancing solicitor on the on the bank panel.
I own a 4 bedroom Victorian house in Willesden. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and HSBC Bank. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the matching address. 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 proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Willesden and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the position with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.
How does conveyancing in Willesden differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Willesden contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is ready to move into. This is because new home sellers in Willesden typically purchase the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Willesden or who has acted in the same development.
I opted to have a survey carried out on a property in Willesden in advance of instructing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. Our surveyor has said that some banks may not give a mortgage on such a home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different requirements from Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can look into this further with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Willesden. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Willesden especially if they are familiar with such properties in Willesden.
Am I best advised to choose a Willesden conveyancing lawyer who is local to the property I am buying? We have a good friend who can deal with the legal work however his firm is located 200kilometers away.
The benefit of a local Willesden conveyancing practice is that you can visit the firm to sign documents, present your ID and pester them if necessary. They will also have local knowledge which is a benefit. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust used your friend and they were happy that should outweigh using an unfamiliar Willesden conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being local.