My brother and I have recently bought a house in Bankside. We have noticed several problems with the house which we believe were omitted in the conveyancing searches. Do we have any recourse? Can you clarify the nature of searches that needed to have been conducted for conveyancing in Bankside?
It is not clear from the question as to the nature of the problems and if they are relate to conveyancing in Bankside. Conveyancing searches and due diligence undertaken during the legal transfer of property are supposed to help avoid problems. As part of the process, a seller completes a form referred to as a Seller’s Property Information Form. answers provided is incorrect, then you may have a claim against the owner for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Bankside.
Is there a reason why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Bankside is more expensive?
The conveyancing fees on a leasehold premises in Bankside is often more expensive than on a freehold transaction. This is due to the extra work necessary in corresponding with the freeholder and management company to obtain information concerning whether the rent and maintenance charges have been paid and whether there are any significant expenditure in the near future on repairs or maintenance of the building.
five months have elapsed since my purchase conveyancing in Bankside took place. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £160,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the property from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Bankside I like with open areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 52 years on the lease. There is not much else in Bankside for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least twenty four months you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this.
Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Bankside with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bankside can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Bankside state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Should you dont have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand. If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy process and frustrates many a Bankside home move. Where a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later. A minority of Bankside leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in Bankside. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Bankside conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Bankside residence 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 was in relation to 41 flats. The unexpired lease term was 107 years.
Is there a reason that Bankside conveyancing charges are higher for leasehold and freehold properties?
Inevitably there is more work necessary for leasehold conveyancing. Bankside has many leasehold properties. There is more hours involved in the purchase: for example, the lease and leasehold information (including up to date service charge, ground rent and buildings insurance details) obtained from the freeholder or managing agents. There are strict criteria that the lease must meet in order to be acceptable to a mortgage company. If it does not meet these requirements, the lease must be amended, which can involve additional expense for the seller.