I am nearing exchange of contracts for my flat in Capel St Mary and the estate agent has just telephoned to advise that the purchasers are appointing a new solicitor. The excuse is that the bank will only deal with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a major mortgage company only deal with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Capel St Mary ?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms they are content to work with, but in the last few years big names such as HSBC, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for over 25 years.
Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed 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 says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that 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 not going to have any impact on this.
I used Stirling Law several years ago for my conveyancing in Capel St Mary. Now, I need the documents but cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?
You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Capel St Mary of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I am looking for a ground for flat up to £305k and found one close by in Capel St Mary I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, however it's only got 61 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Capel St Mary in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?
Should you need a mortgage that many years will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least 2 years you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this.
Am I right to be concerned by third parties that I am dealing with are suggesting a web based conveyancing firm rather than a High Street Capel St Mary conveyancing company?
As is the case with many service providers, often recommendations from connections can be worth their weight in gold. Yet there are many parties with a keen interest in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, financial adviser and mortgage companies may suggest lawyers to choose. Sometimes the solicitors might be known to one of the organisations as experts in their field, but occasionally there might be a commercial relationship behind the endorsement. You are free to choose your own lawyer. You need to be aware that the majority of mortgage providers specify a panel list of lawyers you have to use for the mortgage aspect of your home move.
My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Capel St Mary. Conveyancing and TSB mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Capel St Mary who previously acted has long since retired. What should I do?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Capel St Mary conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
Capel St Mary Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider before Purchasing
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What restrictions are there in the Capel St Mary Lease? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? How much is the ground rent and service charge?
The conveyancers carrying out our conveyancing in Capel St Mary has forwarded papers to review that state the property is unregistered with epitome documents. Surely all property in Capel St Mary are registered?
It is rare for premises in Capel St Mary not to be registered. An 'epitome' is basically a dossier of photocopies of documents affecting an unregistered title. Plenty of Capel St Mary conveyancing lawyers will be familiar with this type of conveyancing but in the event that uncertainty reigns the conventional guidance presently appears to be for the seller’s conveyancer to register the title first and then sell - this will have a domino effect to cause a significant delay.