I am selling my home in Caddington and the EA has just telephoned to warn that the buyers are changing their law firm. The reason given is that the bank will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major lender only engage with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Caddington ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in recent years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.
Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says 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. The buyers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
A colleague advised me that where I am buying in Caddington I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Caddington conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Caddington around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Caddington Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning Caddington.
2 months have elapsed following my purchase conveyancing in Caddington concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £180,000. 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.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Caddington. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.
Set out below is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Caddington
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Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. The Vendor must covenant to keep unoccupied units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified.
I am looking at a couple of flats in Caddington which have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Caddington is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the premises. The majority of buyers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Caddington conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.
I inherited a garden flat in Caddington, conveyancing having been completed October 2005. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Caddington with over 90 years remaining are worth £179,000. The ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2082
With only 57 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £26,600 and £30,800 as well as professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.
My wife and I are FTB’s just having agreed a price on a property in Caddington, and need to get solicitors instructed. I have made use of the numerous comparison based websites and the results are from all across the country. Is it advisable to have a Caddington solicitor local to your potential house? I am happy to do everything over the internet, but I assume at some point we may need to physically go into the lawyer's office to sign documents?
Usually there is no need to attend the office of your conveyancer, they can post any relevant papers to you, which you can sign and return. Many buyers and sellers choose to use a locally based solicitor, but it's by no means essential for conveyancing in Caddington.