My house in South Harrow is up for sale and I have accepted an offer. Will my conveyancing practitioner have to be on the Co-operative conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Co-operative 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 requirements fairly frequently currently.

We are purchasing a detached bungalow in South Harrow. Our aim is to convert the garage to a playroom at the house.Will the conveyancing process involve checks to see if these works are allowed?

Your conveyancer will check the deeds as conveyancing in South Harrow will sometimes identify restrictions in the title documents which restrict certain works or require the permission of another owner. Some extensions call for local authority planning consent and approval in compliance with building regulations. Some locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or affect extensions. You should check these issues with a surveyor prior to committing yourself to a purchase.

We expect to receive a OIP from Clydesdale this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Clydesdale recommend any South Harrow solicitors on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?

You will need to appoint South Harrow solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Clydesdale through the process.

I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Kent Reliance. I assume I don't need a South Harrow conveyancing practitioner on the Kent Reliance panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.

If you have finished paying off your Kent Reliance mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Kent Reliance mortgage from the register. Kent Reliance, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where Kent Reliance has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. Kent Reliance has instructed the Land Registry to do so

My wife and I own a 4 bedroom Georgian house in South Harrow. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Nottingham Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the matching property. Is it worth asking Nottingham Building Society to clarify?

You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in South Harrow and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also question the position with the conveyancing lawyer who carried out the work.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in South Harrow. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in South Harrow should include some of the following:

What you can do if an adjoining owner is in violation of a provision in their lease? Additions to the premises Repair and maintenance of the flat The physical ownership of the property. This could be the flat itself but could also incorporate a attic or basement if applicable. Your conveyancers should enable you to have an understanding of the insurance obligations

I have given up seeking a lease extension in South Harrow. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

if there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the LVT to make a decision on the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a South Harrow property is GFF 1 Holyrood Avenue in May 2014. The Tenant wished to acquire a new (extended) lease and applied to the Willesden County Court who granted a vesting order on 20* March2013. The Tribunal decied that the premium to be paid was £9,062 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 79 years.

Being a leasehold owner I am liable for a service charge for my appartment in South Harrow. Due to redundancy and personal issues I fell into arrears with payments. I negotiated a settlement plan but there is still a couple of outstanding at the current time.

I now wish to sell and I am concerned this will jeopardize the sale if I have to pay off the amount due in advance. Do I have to settle before - is this possible?

You should speak with the property lawyer conducting your South Harrow conveyancing but it might be possible to agree for the debt to be passed to the purchasers. The final price due would be adjusted to reflect the amount of debt they take on. They would then pay the fees once they are the owners.