My fiance and I are planning to purchase a property in Aldgate and are in fact using a Aldgate conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Alliance & Leicester have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Aldgate conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the purchaser's lender. 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your mortgage company 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Aldgate solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
What will a local search tell me about the house I am purchasing in Aldgate?
Aldgate conveyancing often commences with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search organisations for example Searches UK The local search is essential in every Aldgate conveyancing purchase; that is if you wish to avoid any unpleasant surprises after you move into your new home. The search will supply data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen subject headings.
I purchased a renovated Victorian property in Aldgate. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Alliance & Leicester . I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You need to 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 Aldgate 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 buyers. You can also enquire as to the situation with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the work.
How does conveyancing in Aldgate differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Aldgate approach us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is finished. This is because house builders in Aldgate typically buy the real estate, 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Aldgate or who has acted in the same development.
Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Aldgate ahead of retaining solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. Our surveyor advised that some banks may not give a mortgage on this type of property.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to telephone us we can check with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Aldgate. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Aldgate especially if they are familiar with such properties in Aldgate.
I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Aldgate where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Aldgate conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser 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 needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.
I am the registered owner of a ground floor flat in Aldgate. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum due for a lease extension?
if there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the premium.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Aldgate flat is 1-41 Royal Tower Lodge 40 Cartwright Street in April 2013. the tribunal adding the agreed value of capitalised ground rents and the reversion the price to be paid for the freehold was £1,187,000 This case related to 41 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 107 years.