I am 4 weeks into the sale of my flat in Baglan and the EA has just e-mailed to advise that the purchasers are changing their conveyancer. The reason given is that the lender will only work with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a big named lender only engage with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Baglan ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in recent years big names such as Nationwide, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 15 years.
Mortgage companies justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
The deeds to our property are lost. The solicitors who dealt with the conveyancing in Baglan 4 years ago are no longer around. What are my options?
Assuming the title is registered the information relating to your proprietorship will be held by HMLR with a Title Number. It is easy to conduct a search at the Land Registry, locate your property and get current copies of the property title for less than a fiver. Where the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually retain a certified duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for twenty pounds.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and identified one near me in Baglan I like with amenity areas and station nearby, the downside is that it's only got 61 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Baglan in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?
If you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease may be problematic. Discount the price 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 could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
I am looking into buying my first house which is in Baglan and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Baglan. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Baglan area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?
Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Baglan. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found
I have been sourcing a conveyancing practitioner in Baglan for my home move. Is it possible to check a solicitor's complaints history with the legal regulator?
You may search for presented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions arising from inquisitions started on or after 1 January 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For details about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a solicitors record, phone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For non-uk callers, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may recorded telephone calls for training purposes.
Last December I purchased a leasehold property in Baglan. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
Baglan Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before Purchasing
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Most Baglan leasehold flats will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the building set on behalf of the management company. Should you buy the apartment you will have to meet this contribution, usually in instalments accross the year. This can be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a large sum, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to check as occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds. How is the lease structured? The answer will be useful as a) areas could cause problems for the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate if repairs are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will want to know about it