Will my conveyancing lawyers need to check that the building insurance when buying a house in West Hendon. My lender is Chelsea Building Society

Chelsea Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 6/5/2024, the requirements read as follows :

I am the sole recipient of my late father’s will and I have everything in my name now, including the house in West Hendon. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in April. I plan to dispose of the house. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders 6 month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship could be regarded the same way as though I had purchased the house in April. Is the property unsalable for six months?

The CML handbook mandates solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you might be caught by that. How practical a view banks take of it, depend on the bank as this provision chiefly exists to identify the purchase and immediately sell or the quick reselling of properties.

I have a mortgage with TSB for my property in West Hendon. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform TSB?

TSB must be informed of your intention in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of TSB’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact TSB directly. You need not do this via a TSB conveyancing panel lawyer.

After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in West Hendon. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their conveyancing practitioner. I paid an on account payment of £175. Shortly after, the lawyer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Virgin Money panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

My relative suggested that where I am purchasing in West Hendon I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard West Hendon conveyancing searches. It is a large report of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about West Hendon around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the West Hendon Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, West Hendon Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning West Hendon.

How does conveyancing in West Hendon differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in West Hendon approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is finished. This is because house builders in West Hendon usually acquire 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 conveyancers 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 West Hendon or who has acted in the same development.

Been reading online that West Hendon solicitors are more costly than licensed conveyancers in West Hendon to use when buying a property. Am I better off using a conveyancer or a solicitor if I am buying for my home move in West Hendon.

When it comes to conveyancing in West Hendon the costs are unlikely to vary dramatically depending on whether the legal expert is a licenced conveyancer or solicitor.