My wife and I are hoping to acquire a property in Barbican and have instructed a Barbican conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. National Westminster Bank have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Barbican solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for 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 bank 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 bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Barbican lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
My son is buying a newly built flat in Barbican with a mortgage from Skipton. His solicitor has advised him of a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Skipton conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Skipton conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
We are buying a house in Barbican. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a lawyer? On the day of competition we will need to deposit funds into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our money?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with TSB. I assume I don't need a Barbican property lawyer on the TSB panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your TSB mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the TSB mortgage from the register. TSB, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where TSB has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- TSB has instructed the Land Registry to do so
Kent Reliance have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on a house in Barbican has been agreed to, now what?
The property agent will want to be advised as to your solicitor's details (ensure that the conveyancing practitioners are on the lender’s panel). Call up Kent Reliance or the financial adviser and finish off any relevant documentation. Kent Reliance will instruct a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or vendor to book a time for the valuation to take place. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes approximately a fortnight for the mortgage offer to be issued. Kent Reliance will send the offer to you and your conveyancers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Barbican.
We are purchasing a property and the conveyancer has referenced Chancel Repair for which the house could be obligated to contribute to given it’s proximity to the area of such a church. He has recommended insurance. Is this really appropriate for conveyancing in Barbican
Unless a prior acquisition of the property took place post 12 October 2013 you could take it that lawyers conducting conveyancing in Barbican to remain encouraging a chancel search and or chancel repair liability policy.
The deeds to our property are lost. The solicitors who handled the conveyancing in Barbican 5 years ago are no longer around. What do I do?
Assuming the title is registered the details of your proprietorship will be evidenced by HMLR under a Title Number. It is possible to conduct a search at the Land Registry, locate your property and secure current copies of the property title for a small fee. Where the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually hold a certified duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for a small fee.
I only have 72 years left on my flat in Barbican. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?
On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. On the whole a specialist may be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Barbican.
I am the registered owner of a ground flat in Barbican. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount due for a lease extension?
if there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the amount due.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Barbican flat is 137 & 139 Haberdasher Street in December 2013. The Tribunal determines in accordance with section 48 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease for each Property should be £12,350.00. This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 72.39 years.