I am nearing exchange of contracts for my maisonette in Burntwood and the EA has just telephoned to advise that the purchasers are switching law firm. The reason given is that the lender will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major lender only deal with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Burntwood ?
Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, 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.
Banks attribute this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say 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. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
We are buying a 1 bedroom apartment in Burntwood with a loan from Virgin Money.We use our Burntwood conveyancing solicitor but Virgin Money advised that her practice is not on their approved list of firms. We have to appoint a Virgin Money panel lawyer or keep our high street solicitor and fork out for a Virgin Money panel lawyer to represent them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that Virgin Money use our lawyer?
No, not really. The home loan offered to you is subject to its various provisions, one of which will be that conveyancers will be on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. in the past, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could find one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Virgin Money
What does a local search inform me concerning the property I am purchasing in Burntwood?
Burntwood conveyancing often starts with the ordering local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search organisations for instance Searchflow The local search is essential in every Burntwood conveyancing purchase; that is if you wish to avoid any unpleasant once you have moved into your property. The search will provide information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the property (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 topic sections.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Burntwood?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Burntwood. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Burntwood where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Burntwood conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 purchaser.
I am the registered owner of a studio flat in Burntwood, conveyancing formalities finalised September 2012. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Burntwood with an extended lease are worth £191,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2079
With just 53 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £27,600 and £31,800 plus legals.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.
Me and my partner are FTB’s just having agreed a price on a property in Burntwood, and are now looking to get solicitors instructed. I have made use of the numerous comparison tools and the quotes are from all over the country. Is it critical to have a Burntwood conveyancer local to the prospective property? I am content to do everything electronically, but I assume at some stage we will be required to physically go into the conveyancer's office to sign contracts?
The lawyer does not need to be in Burntwood, but opting for local means that you can go in if you need to, by way of example, if a signature is immediately necessary. Furthermore, a Burntwood solicitor is likely to be familiar with local agents and (if the vendor has chosen a local conveyancer) with them, which will help keep things moving faster.