We wanted to use a conveyancing solicitor in Notting Hill for our house purchase. Our financial adviser informed us that our bank Barclays won't deal with them. Surely this is unfair competition?

Lenders in the main restrict either the category or the amount of conveyancing solicitors on their panel. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a law practice must not be a sole practitioner. As well as restricting the profile of firm, a few banks have limited the number of solicitor practices they use to represent them. You should note that Barclays have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Barclays Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a primary driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago even though there are differing views regarding the level of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Figures from the Land Registry reveal that hundreds of law firms, including some in or near Notting Hill only carry out one or two conveyances per annum.

Me and my partner are purchasing a apartment in Notting Hill. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a conveyancer? At some point we have to put our life savings into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our deposit?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

I am selling my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in August 2010, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, Aldermore are being problematic. The Notting Hill solicitor who is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Aldermore are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Aldermore have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Aldermore have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Aldermore may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

I have instructed a Notting Hill conveyancer having made sure that they are on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

Nationwide will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Nationwide 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 Notting Hill postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Nationwide, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Notting Hill.

My business partner and I are planning to take over a lease of a shop on a shopping parade. Can you recommend lawyers offering no-move-no fees for commercial conveyancing in Notting Hill for less than £2000?

We can recommend firms who host a wealth of experience of commercial conveyancing in Notting Hill, including the sale and acquisition of businesses as well as simply property. Whether you are looking to acquire or dispose of a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail unit or a complete business we will put you in touch with the right firm. As for the costs these will vary based on the structure and complexity of the proposed transaction. Please provide us with your contact information or phone us so that we can supply you with a fixed commercial conveyancing quote.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years unexpired on my flat in Notting Hill. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the landlord. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Notting Hill.

I am the leaseholder of a a ground floor purpose built flat in Notting Hill. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium payable for a lease extension?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Notting Hill conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Notting Hill residence is 2 Grove House 95 Addison Road in October 2013. the Tribunal decided that the premium to bepaid for a new lease is £50,050. This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 68.4 years.

A conveyancing firm handled my conveyancing in Notting Hill half a dozen years ago having stored my registration documents but has since been shut down – What steps do I now take to get hold of these?

Title deeds, as such, no longer exist as most properties in Notting Hill are archived digitally at Land Registry. Should you need to show evidence of proprietorship or are selling or re-mortgaging your conveyancing practitioner will need to obtain up to date copies of the register from the Land Registry in any case.

If you feel there may be other documents or you have any other queries please e-mail your request with details of the transaction and documents you need to filerequest@clc-uk.org. The CLC will let you know what information they have and any additional information they may need before they are in a position to identify and send the documents to you. Following an intervention it may take some time for the CLC to access archived files and documents, but your request will be actioned with reasonable haste.