Why do I have to pay up front for conveyancing in London?

If you are buying a property in London your lawyer will ask you put them with monies to cover the search fees. Normally this is needed to cover the fees of the conveyancing searches. If any deposit is as part of the total price then this will be needed immediately prior to exchange of contracts. The closing balance that is needed will be payable shortly before completion.

I have been told that property searches are the primary cause of hinderance in London house deals. Is this right?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the determinations of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the top 10 causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Searches are unlikely to be the root cause of delay in conveyancing in London.

I decided to have a survey carried out on a property in London before appointing conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. My surveyor has said that some lenders tend not grant a loan on a flying freehold house.

It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different requirements for example to Birmingham Midshires. If you call us we can investigate further with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in London. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

We're new to the buying process - agreed a price, but the agent advised that the owners will only issue a contract if we instruct their preferred solicitors as they are insisting on a ‘quick sale’. My instinct tells me that we should use a local solicitor used to conveyancing in London

We suspect that the seller is unaware of this requirement. If they require ‘a quick sale', turning down a motivated buyer is is going to put the whole deal at risk. Contact the vendors directly and make the point that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are excited to move forward, with finances in place © you are chain free (d) you wish to move quickly (e)however you will continue to use your preferred London conveyancing lawyers - rather thanthose that will give their negotiator at the agency a referral fee or hit his conveyancing thresholds pre-set by senior management.

I need to change lawyers as my London lawyer is not on the mortgage company's panel of conveyancing solicitors. Is it advisable to appoint a new law firm?

In the event that you have not formally appointed a solicitor to start work and at this stage simply received quotes, you're perfectly free to choose a different solicitor to carry out your work for you. The best way is to get recommendations from friends or family who have actually used the solicitor or conveyancer in London that you're considering.