My wife and I are purchasing a 1 bedroom apartment in White City with a mortgage. We like our White City lawyer, but the bank advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel firms or continue with our White City and pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. We feel that this is unjust; are we not able to require that the bank use our White City ?

Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your White City conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

My friend recommended that if I am buying in White City I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

This is a search is usually included in the estimate for your White City conveyancing searches. It is a large report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about White City around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about White City.

How does conveyancing in White City differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in White City approach us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is finished. This is because developers in White City typically buy the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in White City or who has acted in the same development.

What does commercial conveyancing in White City cover?

Non domestic conveyancing in White City incorporates a broad array of services, offered by regulated solicitors, relating to business premises. By way of example, this area of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more commonly, the transfer of existing business tenancies or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial loans and the termination of leases.

White City Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before buying

Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge payments? How much is the ground rent and service charge? Where a White City lease has no more than 80 years it will affect the value of the apartment. Check with your lender that they are content with residual term of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely require a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would be required to have been the owner of the property for a couple of years in order to be legally able to extend the lease.