Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my solicitor in Cippenham is not on my mortgage company's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the standard of his conveyancing?
It would not be wise to jump to that conclusion. There are plenty of plausible explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator revealed 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. If you are concerned you should contact the Cippenham conveyancing firm and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.
I have given 8 weeks notice to my current landlord and must leave my let out flat in Cippenham by 11/6/2025. Conveyancing on my purchase is progressing. Is it possible to complete in six weeks as I wish to avoid having to move into short term accommodation?
It is unwise to give notice for your lease until your lawyer suggests that you should. If you have not previously done so, contact to your solicitor and request that they chase the sellers lawyers, try to get a realistic time scale from them that all parties will work towards
Is it the case that all Cippenham solicitor firms on the HSBC conveyancing panel are governed by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the HSBC conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the SRA. Many banks do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the practice would be governed by the CLC.
I currently have a mortgage with Nationwide for my property in Cippenham. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Nationwide?
You must advise Nationwide prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Nationwide’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Nationwide will permit you to let 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 Nationwide directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Nationwide conveyancing panel solicitor.
I recently had an offer accepted on a house in Cippenham. My financial adviser suggested a solicitor. I paid an advanced payment of £175. Shortly after, the conveyancer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Co-operative panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £305k and found one close by in Cippenham I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, however it's only got 51 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Cippenham for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage that many years will likely be an issue. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £425,000 maisonette in Cippenham in 10 days. The managing agents has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Cippenham?
For the majority of leasehold sales in Cippenham conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :
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Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
Where consent is required before sale in Cippenham
Copies of the building insurance and schedule
Deeds of covenant upon sale
Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
I purchased a basement flat in Cippenham, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding flats in Cippenham with an extended lease are worth £195,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2088
You have 63 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £16,200 and £18,600 as well as costs.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.
The conveyancing solicitors undertaking our conveyancing in Cippenham has forwarded papers to review that state the land is unregistered with epitome documents. Surely all property in Cippenham are registered?
Most property in Cippenham is registered. An 'epitome' is basically a dossier of photocopies of documents affecting an unregistered title. Plenty of Cippenham conveyancing practitioners should be capable of dealing with this type of conveyancing but where uncertainty reigns the usual advice these days appears to be for the seller’s conveyancer to deal with the registration formalities first and subsequently deal with the sale conveyance - this will have a domino effect to result in a significant delay.