I am expecting a offer of a home loan from Nat West. My intention is to use a Licensed Conveyancer in Ealing. Does the Nat West Conveyancing panel include Licensed Conveyancers?

The Nat West approved solicitor list is, like many other lenders, represented by the Council or Mortgage Lenders or BSA, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

All was ready to complete my purchase in Ealing next Friday. I have now been asked to send a copy of my building insurance schedule by my solicitor as he says that he has to check this in his capacity as lawyer for the lender. What risks does the bank expect the insurance to cover?

All property lawyers on acting for lenders would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in a lender’s Part 2 conditions. These obligations are not specific to conveyancing in Ealing.

My aunt informed me that in purchasing a property in Ealing there could be a number of restrictions as to what one can do in terms of external changes to the property. Is this right?

We are aware of anumerous of properties in Ealing which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Ealing should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

We had selected solicitors with offices in Ealing on the Kent Reliance solicitor panel. They have just invoiced me a further sum for dealing with the Kent Reliance mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Kent Reliance?

Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your conveyancing practitioner can charge a fee for this. The charge is not set by Kent Reliance but by your Ealing solicitor. Numerous firms on the Kent Reliance panel will levy ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but many firms incorporate it on their overall fee.

The mortgage over my property is with Bank of Ireland for my property in Ealing. 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 Bank of Ireland?

Bank of Ireland must be informed of your intention before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Bank of Ireland’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 Bank of Ireland directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel solicitor.

My wife and I purchased a renovated Georgian house in Ealing. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Barclays Direct. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Ealing 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 lenders. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Ealing with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ealing can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers’ conveyancers.
A minority of Ealing leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers. The majority of freeholders or managing agents in Ealing levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ealing. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Ealing state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. If you fail to have the approvals to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.

Having spent months of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Ealing. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Ealing conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Ealing premises is Flat 4 38 The Mall in April 2014. the Tribunal held that the premium payable for the lease extension to be £25,451 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 68.7 years.