My wife and I are purchasing a flat in Cheam. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a lawyer? At some point we will need to send our life savings into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our monies?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
I am due to exchange contracts on my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in July 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, Santander are being difficult. The Cheam solicitor who is on the Santander conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Santander are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Santander have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Santander have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Santander may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
Having read lots of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Cheam solicitor - who is on the Santander conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Santander will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Santander will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your property lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Cheam postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Santander, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Cheam.
It has been 2 months since my purchase conveyancing in Cheam concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 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.
I am looking for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and identified one round the corner in Cheam I like with open areas and transport links nearby, however it's only got 52 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Cheam in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage that many years will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least 2 years you can ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.
In scouring the internet for the words on line conveyancing in Cheam it shows results of numerous conveyancersin the vicinity. With so much choice what is the best way to find the right solicitor for my move?
The best method of seeking a suitable conveyancer is via personal referral, so seek the opinion of friends and family who have bought a property in Cheam or a respected estate agent or financial adviser. Charges for conveyancing in Cheam vary, so it's sensible to request a minimum of four fee estimates from different companies. Make sure that you know that the fees are fixed.
Last September I purchased a leasehold house in Cheam. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can one apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Cheam conveyancing firm to help?
You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Cheam conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Cheam premises is 33 The Maisonettes Alberta Avenue in June 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of a new lease be the sum of £20,680 (Twenty Thousand six hundred and eighty pounds). This case related to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 60.43 years.
Our lenders have just issued us with a mortgage offer. We appointed a reputable conveyancer in Cheam yesterday. A couple of hours ago, our broker contacted us saying that the lender said that we cannot use our solicitor as they aren't on their 'approved list'. As FTB's, we did not have a clue that the lender had some control over our choice Is this legal?
You can actually use any conveyencer you want to use for your conveyancing in Cheam but if your lender aren't happy with them you will have to fork out additional cost so your lender can instruct their own conveyancer too. It may be possible your solicitor may apply to get added to the lender panel. You can use online tools such as lenderpanel.com to find a conveyancing solcitor in Cheam on the bank panel. You can go into your local bank branch in Cheam. They will know some good conveyancing solicitors in Cheam on the lender panel.