I am expecting a offer of a home loan from Halifax. My intention is to retain the legal services of a Licensed Conveyancer in Catford. Does the Halifax Solicitor panel include conveyancers regulated by the CLC?
The Halifax approved solicitor list is, like many other lenders, associated to the Council or Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
My Catford conveyancer has spotted a discrepancy between the information in the valuation survey and what is revealed within the title deeds. My solicitor says that he is obliged to ensure that the lender is OK with this discrepancy and is content to go ahead. Is my solicitor’s stance right?
Your conveyancer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for both parties.
We wanted to use a property lawyer in Catford for our house move. Our broker informed us that our bank Bank of Ireland won't deal with them. Surely this is unduly restrictive?
Mortgage Companies ordinarily restrict either the type or the amount of conveyancing practices on their panel. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must not be a sole practitioner. As well as restricting the profile of firm, some have decided to limit the number of solicitor practices they permit to represent them. Be aware that Bank of Ireland have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Bank of Ireland Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of solicitor panels a few years ago even though there are mixed opinions about the level of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Figures from the Land Registry indicate that thousands of law firms, including some in or near Catford only execute one or two conveyances a year.
I am helping my niece sell her flat in Catford. Does the conveyancing solicitor order the energy performance certificate or do I organise this?
After the abolition of Home Information Packs, EPC’s remained a compulsory component of moving house. An EPC must be commissioned before the property is advertised. It is not a task that lawyers normally organise. If you are using a Catford conveyancing solicitor they might help arrange energy performance certificates due to their relationships with long established local accredited person
Are all Catford Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Lloyds conveyancing list of approved firms?
A selection of lenders now use the accreditation scheme as the kick off point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to join their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
The mortgage over my property is with Clydesdale for my property in Catford. Conveyancing has been completed months ago. Should I wish to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Clydesdale?
You must advise Clydesdale in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Clydesdale’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Clydesdale directly. You need not do this via a Clydesdale conveyancing panel firm.
Me and my brother own a terraced Victorian house in Catford. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Barclays . I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the matching property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Catford and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the position with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the purchase.
I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Catford where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Catford conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
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.
Despite our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in negotiating a lease extension in Catford. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
in cases where there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to make a decision on the price.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Catford residence is 44 Elmer Road in January 2013. The Tribunal dacied that amount to be paid by the Leaseholders for the Landlords freehold reversion was £12,951 as at the valuation date (20" September 2012).This matter was referred back to the Bromley County Court to deal with costs, fees and any other outstanding matters. This case related to 2 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 74.25 years.