It has come to my attention via my mortgage adviser that my Cricklewood property lawyer is not on the lender Conveyancing panel. What can I do to be sure that this is correct?

You need to contact your Cricklewood lawyer directly. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to notify you what has happened. If they are not on the panel they may recommend you to a Cricklewood conveyancing practice that is on the conveyancing panel for your mortgage company.

The Cricklewood conveyancing lawyers that I recently instructed on my purchase in Cricklewood have without warning closed. I chose them because I needed a lawyer on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel and my previous Cricklewood lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take £195 for searches. What do I do now?

Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them immediately so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors should be in a position to help.

I am buying a property and the conveyancer has mentioned Chancel Repair for which the property could be liable because it falls into the area of such a church. He has recommended insurance. Is this really necessary for conveyancing in Cricklewood

Unless a previous purchase of the house completed after 12 October 2013 you could expect conveyancing practitioners carrying out conveyancing in Cricklewood to continue to propose a a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

The deeds to our property are lost. The lawyers who handled the conveyancing in Cricklewood 4 years ago no longer exist. What do I do?

As long as you have a registered title the information relating to your ownership will be recorded by HMLR with a Title Number. It is easy to perform a search at the Land Registry, locate your property and get up to date copies of the Registered Entries for less than a fiver. If the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will in most cases retain a file copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for twenty pounds.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can I make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Cricklewood conveyancing firm to assist?

if there is a absentee freeholder or if 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 LVT to calculate the price.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Cricklewood flat is 73 and 73a St. Pauls Avenue in October 2013. the Tribunal held in accordance with section32 and Schedule 6 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the enfranchisement was
fifty three thousand three hundred and sixty one pounds (£53,361.00) This case related to 2 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 64.61 and 67.18.

What makes a Cricklewood lease unmortgageable?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Cricklewood. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, Coventry Building Society, and Clydesdale all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.