It has come to my attention via my financial adviser that my West Kensington the law firm I have appointed is not on the mortgage company Solicitor panel. What can I do to check?
The first thing you need to do is to call your West Kensington conveyancer. You lawyer should inform you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the conveyancing panel for your lender.
My partner and I are downsizing from our property in West Kensington and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was constructed land that was not decontaminated. A local lawyer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers used a web based conveyancing outfit rather than a conveyancing solicitor in West Kensington. Having lived in West Kensington for three years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to get confirmation need.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing lawyer currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You should 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 illness)
How does conveyancing in West Kensington differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in West Kensington contact us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is completed. This is because house builders in West Kensington tend to purchase 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 conveyancers 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in West Kensington or who has acted in the same development.
I'm remortgaging my primary property to a BTL mortgage with and intend to use the remaining equity towards further property. The location we are interested in is West Kensington. Will your solicitors be able to act for both sets of mortgage companies and tie in the two deals?
Do use our search tool on this site to check that the lawyers are approved by both lenders. Assuming that they are your solicitor will be able to tie up the two conveyancing matters but you should have a chat with you conveyancer and make clear your expectations and needs.
I own a leasehold flat in West Kensington. Conveyancing was completed in 21012. I have heard that I should not allow the the remaining lease term to get too low. What is the reasoning?
West Kensington domestic long term leases are for a set term - normally 99 years when they are first granted. However a significant flats in West Kensington were constructed or converted in the 60’s and so these leases now have fewer than 80 years left to run. That may sound like a long time but Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage companies on the whole require leases to have a minimum of seventy five years remaining to be mortgageable. Accordingly when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are getting close to 75 years. To increase the saleability of your property you should be thinking about whether to extend your lease well in advance of selling the property. Furthermore advantages to doing so before the lease hits eighty years as when the lease falls below eighty years the amount to be paid to extend starts to get a lot more expensive.