It is a dozen years since I acquired my house in Harrow. Conveyancing lawyers have just been retained on the sale but I am unable to find my title documents. Is this a problem?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly the deeds may be kept by your mortgage company or they could be in the possession of the lawyers who oversaw the purchase. Secondly in most cases the title will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring current official copies of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Harrow involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is unregistered it is more problematic but is resolvable.
We are purchasing a flat in Harrow. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a conveyancer? At some point we will need to deposit money into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our deposit?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
This question may be naive but I am wet behind the ears as a 1st time buyer of a two bedroom flat in Harrow. Do I receive the keys to the premises on completion from my solicitor? If so, I will use a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Harrow?
On the day of completion you will not be required to attend the conveyancers office in Harrow. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the purchase money to the vendor’s conveyancers, and once they have received this, you will be able to pick up the keys from the selling Agents and move into your new home. This tends to happen early afternoon.
I am buying a property in Harrow. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Virgin Money have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As your lender is Virgin Money your lawyer must follow the conveyancing instructions contained in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Virgin Money. The CML Handbook stipulates minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and lawyers are required to report to Virgin Money where a lease fails to comply with these requirements. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not limited to Harrow.
The deeds to my property are lost. The solicitors who did the conveyancing in Harrow 4 years ago have long since closed. What do I do?
Assuming the title is registered the details of your ownership will be retained by the Land Registry with a Title Number. It is easy to conduct a search at the Land Registry, find your house and secure up to date copies of the property title for a small fee. Where the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually hold a file duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for £20 inclusive of VAT.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on two weeks back in what was supposed to be a quick, chain free conveyancing. Harrow is where the house is located. What do you suggest?
Flying freeholds in Harrow are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Harrow you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Harrow may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.
How easy is it to swap solicitor as I need to retain a firm on the Alliance & Leicester conveyancing panel. I hired a high street conveyancing solicitor in Harrow round the corner but he is not accepted by Alliance & Leicester
We will our best to assist in finding you a conveyancing solicitor in Harrow on the Alliance & Leicester panel. Please note that the law firms that we list do not pay us commission if you instruct them and are registered with the SRA who oversee all conveyancing solicitors in Harrow. In utilising the find a conveyancing solicitor tool on this site, you can compare and instruct different solicitors and conveyancers both nationally and in Harrow.
Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Harrow. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?
On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Harrow.
I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can I make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Harrow conveyancing firm to help?
in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the price payable.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Harrow premises is flat 93b Welldon Crescent in May 2009. The Tribunals valuation for a 90-year lease extension of this fat was £13,171 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 75.25 years.