I'm the single recipient of my late mum's estate with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Willesden. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in . I plan to dispose of the house. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders 6 month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship will be regarded the same way as if I'd bought the house in . Is the property unsalable for six months?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook obliges solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you could be caught by that. How practical a view banks take of it, depend on the lender as this requirement principally exists to identify the purchase and immediately sell or the flipping of properties.

Is it the case that all Willesden solicitors on the conveyancing panel are governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the SRA. The majority of mortgage companies do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the organisation would be regulated by the CLC.

I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Willesden off the council. I have a mortgage offer with . Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with , you will need to appoint a solicitor on the conveyancing panel.

I have been told that property searches are the primary cause of delay in Willesden house deals. Is there any truth in this?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published findings of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the most frequent causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are unlikely to be the root cause of delay in conveyancing in Willesden.

I am buying my first flat in Willesden benefiting from help to buy. The builders refused to reduce the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent suggested that I not to tell my solicitor about the side-deal as it may adversely affect my mortgage with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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 have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Willesden I like with amenity areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Willesden for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?

If you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be problematic. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for at least 2 years you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.

I'm converting the mortgage on my existing home to a buy to let loan with and intend to use the remaining equity as a down payment on another house. The location we are interested in is Willesden. Will your conveyancers be able to act for the two lenders and tie in the two deals?

Make use of our comparison tool on this page to check that the conveyancers are approved by both banks. Having checked that they are your solicitor will be able to simultaneously deal with the two conveyancing matters but you should talk with you conveyancer and make apparent your expectations and needs.