Much to our surprise we have been informed by our lender that my Bicester solicitor is not on the lender Conveyancing panel. What can I do to check?
The first thing you need to do is to contact your Bicester conveyancer. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to advise you of the situation. Where they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the conveyancing panel for your bank.
The vendors of the property we are looking to purchase are using a conveyancing practitioner in Bicester who has insisted on a lock out contract with a payment 10k. Is it wise to enter into such agreements?
Exclusivity agreements are contracts binding a home seller and prospective acquirer granting the buyer exclusive rights to the sale of the premises within a prescribed time frame. For all intents and purposes, a lock out agreement is a contract stating that you will be issued with a contract at a later date which is the main conveyancing contract. It tends to be utilised for buyer protection though in many situations, the vendor may enjoy an upside from such agreements as well. There are various pros and cons to having them but you should to check with your conveyancer but note that it may end up costing you extra in conveyancing charges. For these reasons these agreements are rare when it comes to conveyancing in Bicester.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on two weeks back in what should have been a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Bicester is the location of the property. Can you offer any assistance?
Flying freeholds in Bicester are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Bicester you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Bicester may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.
My brother has suggested that I appoint his conveyancing solicitors in Bicester. Do I follow his advice?
There are no two ways about it the ideal way to choose a conveyancing lawyer is to have guidance from friends or relatives who have used the firm that you are considering.
Frank (my husband) and I may need to let out our Bicester 1st floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Bicester conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?
The lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Bicester do not contain subletting altogether – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the tenancy agreement.
I bought a 1st floor flat in Bicester, conveyancing was carried out November 1998. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable flats in Bicester with an extended lease are worth £202,000. The ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2081
With only 56 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £29,500 and £34,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.
My partner and I are purchasing a studio flat in Bicester. When we first instructed conveyancer, they said that they were on all mainstream lender panels. The mortgage broker emailed just now to advise that they are not on the Leeds Building Society approved list. Should that be true, what should we do? Do we simply choose a different lawyer that is on their approved list or do we pay for separate representation, with Leeds Building Society selecting their own approved solicitor.
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the buyer’s lawyers to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a lawyer has to be on that lender's list of approved lawyers. An application has to be made by the property lawyer to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict conditions which the property lawyer has to fulfill. Some banks now require their panel firms to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your lawyer should contact Leeds Building Society and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on Leeds Building Society's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Bicester solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.