My wife and I are planning to acquire a property in New Barnet and have appointed a New Barnet conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Barnsley Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our New Barnet solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own New Barnet solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
It is is a decade since I acquired my house in New Barnet. Conveyancing solicitors have just been appointed on the sale but I can't locate the title deeds. Is this a major issue?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly there is a chance that the deeds will be kept by your mortgage company or they may still be with the conveyancers who handled your purchase. Secondly in most cases the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers procuring current official copies of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in New Barnet relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your property is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
I used Wolstenholmes a few years past for my conveyancing in New Barnet. Now, I need the files but cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?
Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate 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 New Barnet of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
How does conveyancing in New Barnet differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in New Barnet approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is completed. This is because builders in New Barnet tend to 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 New Barnet or who has acted in the same development.
How do I search for a New Barnet law firm on the Barclays conveyancing panel? I drive a motor bike and am prepared to travel upto 25miles to meet the conveyancer.
Feel free to make use of the facility on this website. Please pick a mortgage company and your location and you will see a number of New Barnet conveyancing lawyers based on proximity. We have detailed some New Barnet conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can telephone them to verify whether they are on the Barclays member panel
Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years left on my lease in New Barnet. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?
On the basis that 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 granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. On the whole a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing New Barnet.
After years of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in New Barnet. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the price.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a New Barnet property is Flat 2 2 Netherfield Road in April 2010. The Tribunale held that premium payable for a 90 year extension to the existing Lease should be £7,705. This case related to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 76 years.