I am purchasing a garden flat in Harmondsworth. How practical is it for me to do the conveyancing?

Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Harmondsworth you will have to appoint a solicitor on your lender's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Harmondsworth.

There are plenty of conveyancing solicitors in Harmondsworth but how do I know who I should use?

It would be unwise to be tempted by the cheapest Harmondsworth conveyancing quote. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.

I am buying a property in Harmondsworth. One unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender HSBC be concerned?

Given that your lender is HSBC your lawyer must comply with the formal requirements set out in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for HSBC. The CML Handbook sets out minimum conditions for solar panel roof-space leases, and property lawyers are required to report to HSBC where a lease does not meet these provisions. The provisions relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not restricted to Harmondsworth.

I have paid off my mortgage with Nationwide. I assume I don't need a Harmondsworth conveyancing practitioner on the Nationwide panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?

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

I have a semi-detached Georgian property in Harmondsworth. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Birmingham Midshires. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Harmondsworth and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also enquire as to the position with your conveyancing lawyer who completed the work.

I want to rent out my leasehold apartment in Harmondsworth. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

The lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Harmondsworth do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the tenancy agreement.

After months of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Harmondsworth. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to decide the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Harmondsworth premises is 164 Nestles Avenue in October 2013. The tribunal agreed with the proposed price of £20,158 for the freehold and determined that that sum is the amount to be paid into court This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired term was 69 years.

I own a leasehold flat in Harmondsworth. Conveyancing was finished in five years ago. I have heard that I should not allow the lease length get too short. What is the reasoning?

Harmondsworth domestic long term leases are for a fixed term - usually just under one hundred years when they are first granted. However many flats in Harmondsworth were constructed or converted 20 or more years ago and so such leases now have under 80 years remaining. This may sound like plenty of time but Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage companies tend to require leases to have at least 75 years remaining to be mortgageable. Accordingly when you come to sell the property you will need to extend the term of your lease if you are getting close to 75 years. To maximise your property value you should be considering whether to extend your lease long before you come to sell it. You should note that there are advantages to taking action before the lease hits eighty years as when the lease falls below eighty years the premium you have to pay to extend starts to get a lot more expensive.