I am hoping to receive a mortgage offer from Lloyds. I hope to instruct a Licensed Conveyancer in Aldersgate. Does the Lloyds Solicitor panel allow for Licensed Conveyancers?
The Lloyds conveyancing panel is, like many other lenders, associated to the Council or Mortgage Lenders or BSA, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the CLC.
My husband and I are buying a newly built apartment in Aldersgate and my conveyancer is advising me that she has to the mortgage company to disclose incentives from the seller. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange and my preference is not to delay matters. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancer. A precondition to being on a lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our house are lost. The solicitors who handled the conveyancing in Aldersgate 5 years ago have long since closed. Will I be able to sell the house?
Assuming you have a registered title the information relating to your proprietorship will be documented by HMLR with a Title Number. It is easy to perform a search at the Land Registry, find your property and get up to date copies of the Registered Entries for less than a fiver. Where the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will in most cases retain a certified copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be retrieved for £20 inclusive of VAT.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and found one round the corner in Aldersgate I like with amenity areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it only has 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Aldersgate suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?
If you require a mortgage that many years will be problematic. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the property for at least 2 years you may ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.
How does the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 impact my business premises in Aldersgate and how can your lawyers assist?
The 1954 Act affords protection to commercial tenants, granting the legal entitlement to apply to court for a new tenancy and remain in occupation when the lease comes to an end. There are certain specified grounds where a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are complicated. We are happy to direct you to commercial conveyancing practices who use the act for protection and assist with commercial conveyancing in Aldersgate
Is it best to use a Aldersgate conveyancing lawyer who is local to the property I am hoping to buy? An old friend can deal with the legal formalities however his firm is located 400miles away.
The benefit of a high street Aldersgate conveyancing practice is that you can attend the office to sign documents, deliver your identification documents and pester them where appropriate. Having local Aldersgate know how is a benefit. However it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If if people you trust instructed your friend and they were impressed that should trump using an unknown Aldersgate conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being local.