If you had a top tip for choosing a conveyancing solicitor in Harrow on the Hill what would it be?

It would be unwise to be tempted by the cheapest Harrow on the Hill conveyancing fees. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to property lawyers. 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.

Forgive me if this question is silly but I am new to the house moving as FTB of a garden flat in Harrow on the Hill. Do I collect the keys to the property on the completion date from my lawyer? If this is the case, I will appoint a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Harrow on the Hill?

There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the purchase money to the vendor’s solicitors, and once they have received this, you will be called to receive the keys from the selling Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.

I currently have a mortgage with Virgin Money for my property in Harrow on the Hill. Conveyancing has been completed 12 months ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Virgin Money?

You must advise Virgin Money in advance of renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Virgin Money’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Virgin Money will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Virgin Money directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Virgin Money conveyancing panel solicitor.

3 months have elapsed since my purchase conveyancing in Harrow on the Hill concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £170,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the asset from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Harrow on the Hill. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.

Here are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Harrow on the Hill

If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? Please supply a car parking plan. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided.

I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in Harrow on the Hill I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it's only got 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Harrow on the Hill in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?

Should you require a mortgage that many years will likely be problematic. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.

We expect to complete the sale of our £400,000 apartment in Harrow on the Hill next week. The managing agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Harrow on the Hill?

Harrow on the Hill conveyancing on leasehold apartments ordinarily necessitates administration charges invoiced by landlords agents :

Answering pre-contract enquiries Where consent is required before sale in Harrow on the Hill Copies of the building insurance and schedule Deeds of covenant upon sale Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Harrow on the Hill leasehold property is £350. For Harrow on the Hill conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide answers.

After months of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Harrow on the Hill. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Harrow on the Hill flat is flat 93b Welldon Crescent in May 2009. The Tribunals valuation for a 90-year lease extension of this fat was £13,171 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 75.25 years.