My wife and I are buying a 3 bedroom apartment in Notting Hill with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Notting Hill lawyer, however the mortgage company says she’s not on their "panel". It appears that we have little option but to appoint one of the bank panel conveyancing practices or keep our Notting Hill conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. We regard this is inequitable; is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Notting Hill conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

Do lawyers ask for an advanced payment for my conveyancing in Notting Hill?

If you are buying a property in Notting Hill your lawyer will request that you to provide them with funds to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. This will be the total of the cost of the conveyancing searches. If any down payment is as part of the purchase price then this should be required immediately ahead of exchange of contracts. The closing balance that is due should be sent to your lawyer a couple of days ahead of the completion date.

I require expedited conveyancing in Notting Hill as I am under a deadline to sign on the dotted line in less than 4 weeks. A mortgage is not required. Is it possible to decline from having conveyancing searches to save money and time?

As you are not taking a mortgage you have the choice not to do searches although no conveyancer would advise that you don't. With plenty of history conveyancing in Notting Hill the following are examples of issues that can be revealed and therefore affect the marketability of the property: Refused Planning Applications, Overdue Fees, Overdue Grants, Unadopted Roads,...

I used Arc property Solicitors several years ago for my conveyancing in Notting Hill. Now, I need my documents but cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?

Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down 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 Notting Hill of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I inherited a ground-floor 1960’s flat in Notting Hill. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum due for the purchase of the freehold?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Notting Hill conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Notting Hill residence is 2 Grove House 95 Addison Road in October 2013. the Tribunal decided that the premium to bepaid for a new lease is £50,050. This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 68.4 years.

What makes a Notting Hill lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Notting Hill is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts. Insurance obligations

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , Leeds Building Society, and Clydesdale all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.