I am buying a terraced house in Colindale. Can I do my own conveyancing?

Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Colindale you will have to appoint a solicitor on your bank's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Colindale.

I'm in the process of looking at houses in Colindale and I am about to put in an offer. Is it premature to have a solicitor in place? I intend to finance via a home loan with HSBC.

You should start obtaining conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their contact information on to the estate agent. As you are taking out a mortgage with HSBC, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the HSBC conveyancing panel.

I have a mortgage with Nottingham for my property in Colindale. Conveyancing was finalised some time ago. Should I wish to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Nottingham?

Nottingham must be informed of your intention 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 firm.

I am due to exchange contracts on my house. I had a double glazing fitted in June 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, Skipton are being pedantic. The Colindale solicitor who is on the Skipton conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Skipton are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Skipton have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Skipton have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Skipton may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

How does conveyancing in Colindale differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in Colindale come to us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is ready to move into. This is because builders in Colindale 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 used to new build conveyancing in Colindale or who has acted in the same development.

How do I use the search tool to select a conveyancing lawyer in Colindale on the panel for my bank?

First choose a bank such as Santander, The Royal Bank of Scotland or Alliance & Leicester then type in your location such as Colindale. Conveyancing practices in Colindale and across England and Wales should be shown.

Please set out some of specific benefits to instructing a high street property lawyer in Colindale

Home movers in Colindale decide on using a nearby high street solicitor so that they can pop into the firm’s offices just in case they have concerns, and to execute paperwork without using the post.

We would say that there is a marginal edge when opting for a conveyancing practitioner nearby to a property you are purchasing, due to the knowledge of the locality and potential local issues - but this is debatable. The majority of conveyancers undertaking their work online and could be based anywhere.