I am helping my aunt sell her property in Notting Hill. Will the conveyancer commission an EPC or do I organise this?

After the abolition of HIPs, energy assessments was kept a compulsory element of moving house. An energy performance certificate should be commissioned prior to the property being marketed. It is not a task that lawyers normally arrange. If you are using a Notting Hill conveyancing lawyer they may be able to arrange energy performance certificates due to their contacts with long established local assessors

I've digested plenty of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Notting Hill solicitor - who is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?

Nottingham will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Nottingham will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Notting Hill surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

My offer on a detached house in Notting Hill has been agreed to, the owners do nevertheless have a tied purchase. The vendors have offered on a property, however it’s not yet agreed to, and have viewings of other flats in the pipeline. I have selected a nearby conveyancing solicitor in Notting Hill. What do I do now? When should I get the mortgage application with Lloyds started?

It is usual to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses prematurely (home loan application is approx one thousand pounds, then valuation, Notting Hill conveyancing search charges, etc). The first course of action is to check that your solicitor is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. Concerning the next stages this very much dictated by the circumstances of your case, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. During a hot market some buyers would apply for a home loan with Lloyds and pay for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they request their conveyancer to proceed with searches.

We are planning on selling our home in Notting Hill and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being constructed land that was not decontaminated. A local lawyer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the buyers are using a web based conveyancing outfit rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Notting Hill. Having lived in Notting Hill for many years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to get confirmation that there is no issue.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor already. What do they say? You need to enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same sickness)

Just had an offer accepted on a new build apartment in Notting Hill. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Set out below are examples of a few leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Notting Hill

Please supply a car parking plan. Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier?

Am I right to be suspicious about estate agents that I am dealing with are recommending a nationwide conveyancing firm as opposed to a High Street Notting Hill conveyancing practice?

As with many service providers, often input from family and friends can be very helpful. But there are many parties with a keen interest in a conveyancing matter; estate agents, mortgage brokers and lenders might all suggest conveyancers to retain. Sometimes the conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as being good in their field, but occasionally there behind the scenes financial incentive behind the recommendation. You have the right to choose your own lawyer. However, bear in mind that the majority of banks have an approved list of solicitors you have to use for the lender aspect of your house move.

We had our mortgage approved on Tuesday with our bank. We appointed a high street conveyancer in Notting Hill last week. This morning, our financial adviser contacted us saying that the bank said that we cannot use our solicitor as they aren't on their panel. As FTB's, we did not have a clue that the mortgage company had some control over our choice Is this permitted?

You are permitted to choose any property lawyer you wish to use including the said conveyancer in Notting Hill however if your mortgage company aren't happy with them you will have to pay additional cost so the mortgage company can retain their own lawyers. sometimes it is conceivable that your solicitor may apply to get added to the mortgage company list of approved firms. Do make the most of web-based tools including lenderpanel.com to find a conveyancing solcitor in Notting Hill on the mortgage company panel. You can go into your high street lender branch in Notting Hill. They can recommend conveyancing solicitors in Notting Hill on the panel for your bank.