I am one month into the sale of my flat in Chislehurst and the estate agent has just text me to say that the purchasers are changing their solicitor. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only engage with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a leading lender only deal with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Chislehurst ?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in recent years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.
Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms 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 not going to have any impact on this.
We note that you have a post code search directory listing firms on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. Do companies pay you a commission if I instruct them for our conveyancing in Chislehurst?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Lloyds conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Chislehurst.
I am the sole recipient of my late father’s will and I have everything in my name alone, including the house in Chislehurst. The Chislehurst property was put into my name in December. I now wish to sell up. I do know about the CML six month 'rule', meaning my property ownership may be regarded the same way as though I had purchased the house in December. Do I have to wait half a year to sell?
The CML handbook instructs solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you may be impacted by that. How sensible a view banks take of it, depend on the lender as this clause chiefly exists to capture subsales or the wholesaling and assigning of properties.
We are getting a further advance on our home loan from Virgin Money as we intend to carry out alterations to our property in Chislehurst. Are we obliged to select a nearby Chislehurst solicitor on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
Virgin Money don't usually instruct firms on their approved list of lawyers to handle the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Chislehurst. I have a mortgage offer with Nottingham. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Nottingham, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Nottingham conveyancing panel.
I own a semi-detached Victorian house in Chislehurst. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Santander. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same property. Is it worth asking Santander to clarify?
You need to review 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 Chislehurst and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also question the position with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the work.
I'm converting the mortgage on my primary property to a buy to let loan with Santander and intend to use the remaining equity as a deposit on a second property. The location we are interested in is Chislehurst. Will your lawyers be able to act for the two lenders and link together the two deals?
Make use of our search tool on this site to be sure that the lawyers are approved by both banks. On the basis that they are your solicitor will be able to simultaneously deal with the two transactions but you should talk with you lawyer and communicate your expectations and requirements.
I work for a long established estate agent office in Chislehurst where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Chislehurst conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-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 sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.
I have had difficulty in negotiating a lease extension in Chislehurst. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
if there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to decide the price.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Chislehurst property is 70 Andace Park Gardens 133-149 Widmore Road in November 2013. Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the lease extension was £10,052 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 72 years.