Our lawyer has discovered a a problem with the lease for the property we are buying in Kilburn Park. The seller’s lawyers have put forward title insurance as a solution. We are happy with insurance and will pay for it. Our solicitor has advised that he must ensure that the mortgage company is willing to move forward with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the lender?

The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the risk of a conflict of interest, you and the lender are the client. Your conveyancing practitioner must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the lender can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your property lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.

I had intended to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Kilburn Park for our house purchase. Our broker informed us that our bank National Westminster Bank won't deal with them. Surely this is unduly restrictive?

Before the recession most mortgage companies had a different appetite for risk. Almost all Kilburn Park conveyancing firms would have been on many bank panels. The FSA in 2010 completed a thematic review into mortgage fraud which concluded: mortgage lenders should know the conveyancing solicitors dealt with. Consequently, lenders are increasingly seeing more information from law firms relating to their operations and the individuals who work for them and establishing certain criteria such a completing on a minimum number of transactions. Many Kilburn Park conveyancing firms that have been excluded from lender panels have Unblemished track record, no complaints and no claims and didn't just 'dabble' in conveyancing. Kilburn Park is amongst the numerous locations where the conveyancers we list are are approved National Westminster Bank.

Various web forums that I have frequented warn that are the main cause of hinderance in Kilburn Park conveyancing transactions. Is this right?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the findings of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the most frequent causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are unlikely to be the root cause of delay in conveyancing in Kilburn Park.

My wife and I own a semi-detached Edwardian house in Kilburn Park. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Birmingham Midshires. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the matching property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You should assess 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 Kilburn Park and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the purchase.

I am the leaseholder of a a ground floor purpose built flat in Kilburn Park. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount payable for the purchase of the freehold?

You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Kilburn Park conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Kilburn Park residence is 4 & 4A Charteris Road in June 2009. the Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the enfranchisement of 4/4a Charteris Road to be £15,510 for at 4and £15,694 for at 4a This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 70.02 years.

What makes a Kilburn Park lease unmortgageable?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Kilburn Park. Most leases are drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts. Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Clydesdale all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.