I am purchasing a property for cash in Harlington. I have been residing for the last Seventeen years in Harlington. Conveyancing searches are expensive. Given that I have knowledge of the area and road intimately should I not bother getting the solicitor to do all the conveyancing searches?

Provided that you do not need a mortgage, then all but one or two of the Harlington conveyancing searches are non-obligatory. Your lawyer will ’encourage you, no-doubt strongly, that you should have searches done, but she has a professional duty to do this. Do take into account; if you are intend to dispose of the house in the future, it could be of interest to your prospective purchaser what the searches determine. There are plenty of instances where houses with functional issues can still show up negative search results. A competent conveyancing solicitor in Harlington should provide you some helpful advice concerning this.

Is it necessary to take out insurance to cover chancel repairs when acquiring a property in Harlington?

Unless a prior acquisition of the house took place after 12 October 2013 you may take it that solicitors conducting conveyancing in Harlington to continue to suggest a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

How does conveyancing in Harlington differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in Harlington contact us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is ready to move into. This is because house builders in Harlington tend to buy the land, 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 Harlington or who has acted in the same development.

Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Harlington in advance of instructing solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor advised that some mortgage companies tend not grant a mortgage on a flying freehold property.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different requirements from Nationwide. If you call us we can look into this further via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Harlington. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

I work for a busy estate agent office in Harlington where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Harlington conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in Harlington. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the price.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Harlington premises is 164 Nestles Avenue in October 2013. The tribunal agreed with the proposed price of £20,158 for the freehold and determined that that sum is the amount to be paid into court This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 69 years.