Is the fact that my solicitor in Chelsea is not listed on my bank's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the standard of his work?
That is most likely a wrong assumption to make. There are all sorts of perfectly plausible explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated that over three quarters of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The most common reasons for removal are: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Should you be concerned you should simply call the Chelsea conveyancing firm and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.
We are purchasing a apartment in Chelsea. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? On completion day we will need to put our life savings into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our money?
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.
We previously instructed conveyancing lawyers based in Chelsea on the Lloyds solicitor panel. They are now charging me a supplemental amount for dealing with the Lloyds mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Lloyds?
Provided it is contained in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your solicitor may levy a fee for this. This charge is not dictated by Lloyds but by your Chelsea conveyancer. Numerous firms on the Lloyds panel will quote ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but many practices include it on their overall fee.
I'm in the process of viewing apartments in Chelsea and I am now considering a potential offer. Should I already have a lawyer in place at this point? I am planning to take a mortgage with Kent Reliance.
You should start obtaining conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their details on to the estate agent. As you are taking out a mortgage with Kent Reliance, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel.
Will our solicitor be raising enquiries regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in Chelsea.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers dealing with homes in Chelsea. Plenty of people will acquire a house in Chelsea, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical damage, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, suitable insurance cover, or dispose of the property. Steps can be carried out during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Lawyers are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, but there are a numerous searches that may be undertaken by the buyer or by their conveyancers which can figure out the risks in Chelsea. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms sent to a buyer’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) includes a standard inquiry of the vendor to find out if the premises has ever been flooded. If flooding has previously occurred which is not notified by the vendor, then a purchaser may commence a compensation claim stemming from an inaccurate answer. A purchaser’s conveyancers may also order an enviro search. This will disclose if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further investigations should be made.
I am purchasing my first flat in Chelsea with a loan from Platform Home Loans Ltd. The developers would not budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The estate agent suggested that I not to tell my lawyer about the extras as it would impact my mortgage with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I've recently bought a leasehold property in Chelsea. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).
Having spent months of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Chelsea. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to calculate the amount due.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Chelsea premises is 150A Albert Palace Mansions Lurline Gardens in July 2013. The Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the new lease of the subject property was £42,069 This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 57.06 years.
I previously told by my lender that their approved conveyancers operate no completion no charge basis for conveyancing in Chelsea. I had a purchase abort and now the lawyers have requested search fees! They are claiming that the fees are nothing to do with their fees!
By promising "no sale no fee" Chelsea conveyancing firms are waiving their charges for any work conducted. We must stress this is not to be regarded as an insurance scheme. you will still need to pay for any disbursements that your conveyancing practitioner has expended on your behalf such as Chelsea local authority checks