As someone clueless as to conveyancing in Harmondsworth what is your top tip you can impart for the house moving process in Harmondsworth

You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Harmondsworth or throughout West London is an adversarial process. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there exists an abundance of opportunity for conflict between you and other parties involved in the transaction. For example, the seller, estate agent and sometimes the bank. Choosing a solicitor for your conveyancing in Harmondsworth should not be taken lightly as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY party in the transaction whose responsibility is to protect your best interests and to keep you safe.

There is a worrying emergence of a "blame" culture- someone has to be at fault for the process being so protracted. You should always trust your lawyer ahead of the other players in the conveyancing process.

We are selling our flat in Harmondsworth. Does the solicitor have to be on the Nottingham conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Nottingham conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their conditions fairly frequently at the moment.

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Harmondsworth. I have a mortgage agreed with Yorkshire BS. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Yorkshire BS, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel.

The mortgage over my property is with Nottingham for my property in Harmondsworth. Conveyancing was finalised a year 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 BTL mortgage or inform Nottingham?

Your original mortgage agreement with Nottingham will provide that you need their approval in advance of renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Nottingham’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent 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 Nottingham directly. You need not do this via a Nottingham conveyancing panel lawyer.

I can not work out if my bank obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have telephoned my Harmondsworth bank branch on numerous occasions and was advised it wasn't a problem and they will lend. My Harmondsworth conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- called and was told they will not lend based on their published requirements. Who do I believe?

The property lawyer has to follow the CML Handbook Part 2 specifications for your bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.

What does a local search inform me about the house I am buying in Harmondsworth?

Harmondsworth conveyancing often starts with the ordering local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search organisations for instance Searchflow The local search plays a central role in many a Harmondsworth conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any nasty surprises after you move into your new home. The search should supply information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen topic areas.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Harmondsworth. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.

Set out below are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Harmondsworth

Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease.