My wife and I are looking to acquire a property in Acle and are in fact using a Acle conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Bank of Scotland have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Acle solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Acle lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
At what point can the exchange of contracts happen for residential conveyancing in Acle and do I need to attend the solicitors branch?
If you are near to our conveyancing solicitors in Acle you are invited in to sign the paperwork. However, the lender approved solicitors we recommend provide countrywide coverage for conveyancing and provide as equally diligent and professional a job for you when dealing with you by post or email. The executing of the contract is not the critical part. Signing on the dotted line is just a prerequisite for the firm to officially exchange at the appropriate time, which is ordinarily shortly after signing. The exchange process is is usually a five minute process, although where an extended "chain" is in the mix, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Acle)to be in the office available at the end of the phone to exchange contracts.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Virgin Money, do Acle lawyers face an annual charge to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are not aware of any lender fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
Is it the case that all Acle conveyancing solicitors on the Principality conveyancing panel are overseen by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Principality approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the SRA. Many lenders do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the practice would be governed by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
I am selling my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in January 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Aldermore are being difficult. The Acle solicitor who is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine 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 todaybeen informed that Arc property Solicitors have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Acle for a purchase of a leasehold flat 18 months ago. How can I establish that the property is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?
The easiest way to check if the property is registered to you, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Acle conveyancing specialists.
In what way does the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 affect my business offices in Acle and how can you help?
The particular law that you refer to affords protection to commercial tenants, giving them the a statutory right to make a request to court for a renewal tenancy and remain in occupation when the lease reaches an end. There are certain specified grounds where a landlord can refrain from granting a lease renewal and the rules are complex. We are happy to direct you to commercial conveyancing firms who use the act for protection and help with commercial conveyancing in Acle
I work for a long established estate agent office in Acle where we see a number of flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Acle conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
I purchased a basement flat in Acle, conveyancing having been completed July 2012. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar flats in Acle with a long lease are worth £222,000. The ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2096
With only 70 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus legals.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.