My conveyancer has uncovered a defect with the lease for the property we are purchasing in North Kensington. The other side have offered defective title insurance as a solution. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our conveyancer says that he must be satisfied that the lender is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the mortgage company ?

The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the risk of a conflict of interest, you and the bank are the client. Your lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the mortgage company can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your property lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.

At what point will exchange of contracts happen for purchase conveyancing in North Kensington and do I need to attend the conveyancers office?

If you are in close proximity to our conveyancing solicitors in North Kensington you are invited in to sign the paperwork. That being said, the law practices we recommend provide a countrywide conveyancing service and give as equally detailed and professional a job for you when communicating with you electronically. The signing of the property agreement is not the important part. Signing on the dotted line is just a prerequisite for the firm to officially exchange at the appropriate time, which will usually be very shortly after signing. The procedure is nowadays normally dealt with by telephone and can be very rapid, although where an extended "chain" is in play, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in North Kensington)to be in the office available at the end of the phone to exchange contracts.

A friend pointed out to me me that in purchasing a property in North Kensington there may be a number of restrictions limiting what one can do in terms of external changes to a property. Is this right?

There are anumerous of properties in North Kensington which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to execute external variations. Part of the conveyancing in North Kensington should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

Does a directory service exist listing Santander panel solicitors in North Kensington on the Building Society Association’s Website?

Unfortunately not yet. There is no such tool on the CML or Building Society Association sites. A small selection of lenders make their panel listings open the public over the internet. If you are seeking to appoint a North Kensington property lawyer on the Santander please make the most of our tool.

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

If you have finished paying off your TSB 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 TSB mortgage from the register. TSB, 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 TSB has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. TSB has instructed the Land Registry to do so

Should our conveyancer be raising questions regarding flooding during the conveyancing in North Kensington.

Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors carrying out conveyancing in North Kensington. Plenty of people will purchase a house in North Kensington, fully aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or dispose of the property. Steps can be carried out during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the buyer.

Lawyers are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a number of searches that can be initiated by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which should figure out the risks in North Kensington. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms sent to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a standard inquiry of the owner to discover whether the premises has suffered from flooding. In the event that flooding has previously occurred which is not revealed by the vendor, then a buyer may commence a compensation claim resulting from an incorrect reply. The purchaser’s lawyers may also commission an environmental report. This will indicate whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further inquiries will need to be initiated.

I am the leaseholder of a first floor flat in North Kensington. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount due for a lease extension?

if there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the LVT to calculate the price.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a North Kensington flat is 93 Oakwood Court in June 2010. the LVT determined that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £492,083, This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 37.79 years.

What are the frequently found defects that you come across in leases for North Kensington properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in North Kensington. All leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

A duty to insure the building

You will encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Bank of Scotland, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.