I'm in the process of switching my domestic loan to a Buy to Let Chelsea Building Society mortgage. I have been informed by my broker that I require a lawyer as part of the process. I spoke to my previous Holland Park conveyancing solicitor who acted on my behalf when I first acquired the property. The fee calculation provided of just over five hundred pounds is an eye-watering amount to do this as its a refinance than a sale or purchase.

The estimate does seem a tad on the high side. If you shop around you may be able to trim some of the cost by perhaps £100 plus VAT. On the other hand, if you were content with the conveyancing the firm provided you maycome to regret choosing an an untested lawyer. Remember to check the conveyancer can act for Chelsea Building Society. You can use our search tool to find a Holland Park conveyancing firm on the Chelsea Building Society approved list of lawyers, which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Holland Park.

My lawyer has uncovered a defect with the lease for the property we are purchasing in Holland Park. The seller’s lawyers have suggested defective title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our lawyer has advised that he must ensure that the bank is willing to move forward with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the lender?

Even though you have a mortgage offer from the bank does not mean to say that the property will meet their provisions for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. You and the mortgage company are the client. The appropriate lender conditions must be adhered to.

The Holland Park conveyancing solicitors that just started acting on my house acquisition in Holland Park have without warning shut down. They were on acting for me because I had to have a lawyer on the Skipton conveyancing panel and my family Holland Park lawyer was not. I cut them a cheque for £250 in advance. What do I do now?

Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Skipton conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers may be able to help.

I'm buying my first flat in Holland Park with a mortgage from Coventry Building Society. The sellers would not move on the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The estate agent suggested that I not inform my solicitor about the side-deal as it will put at risk my loan with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor for purchase conveyancing in Holland Park. I happened to stumble upon a site which looks to be the ideal answer If it is possible to get all the legals done via web that would be preferable. Do I need to be concerned? What should out be looking out for?

As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?