I am under pressure from the owner of a property in Islington to complete within four weeks. What can I do to expedite matters?

In the event that you are under pressure to complete it is advisable to make sure that your solicitor is familiar with the location as they will have local relationships and intelligence. It is even conceivable that they would have conducted previousproperties in the same neighbourhood. You would be best advised to use a Islington conveyancing firm. Second, be sure that the lawyer is on the on the approved list for your mortgage company. It is claimed that nearly one in five of Islington conveyancing deals are suspended or jeopardised after discovering a buyer’s lawyer was not on their banks panel. In many cases this discovery resulted in the transaction being frustrated by as much as three weeks. It is estimated that this issue impacts approximately 100,000 home sales every year. Many Islington conveyancing firms can not represent certain lenders so do check at the outset.

Is there a list of RBS panel conveyancers in Islington on the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Website?

Unfortunately not yet. There is no such facility on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association sites. A small selection of lenders make their panel listings open the public over the internet. If you are in need of a Islington conveyancing practitioner on the RBS please make the most of our facility.

The mortgage over my property is with Santander for my property in Islington. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. Should I wish to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Santander?

You must advise Santander before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Santander’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Santander 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 Santander directly. You need not do this via a Santander conveyancing panel firm.

Having digested plenty of mortgage guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Islington solicitor - who is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?

Leeds Building Society will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Leeds Building Society 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. Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Islington postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Leeds Building Society, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Islington.

I need some fast conveyancing in Islington as I am faced with pressure to complete within 4 weeks. Luckily I do not need a mortgage. Is it possible to decline from having conveyancing searches to save fees and time?

If.Given you are not taking a mortgage you have the choice not to do searches although no solicitor would advise that you don't. With lots of history conveyancing in Islington the following are examples of what can crop up and adversely affect future saleability: Enforcement Actions, Outstanding Charges, Overdue Grants, Railway Schemes,...

I used Action Conveyancing several years past for my conveyancing in Islington. Now, I need my files but cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?

You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Islington of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I own a leasehold flat in Islington. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Islington who acted for me is not around. Do I pay?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Islington conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can a leaseholder make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Islington conveyancing firm to represent me?

Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to arrive at the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Islington premises is 5C Stoke Newington Road in April 2010. the Tribunal therefore concludes that the premium to be paid for the extended lease is £700.00 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 80.5 years.