My husband and I are hoping to acquire a property in Codsall and have appointed a Codsall conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. National Westminster Bank have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Codsall lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Codsall solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
It is a dozen years since I acquired my home in Codsall. Conveyancing solicitors have now been retained on the sale but I can't track down the title documents. Is this a problem?
Don’t worry too much. First there is a possibility that the deeds will be with your lender or they may be in the possession of the conveyancers who acted in your purchase. Secondly in all probability the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors obtaining current official copies of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Codsall relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.
I happen to be the single recipient of my late father’s will with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Codsall. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in August. I want to move. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', meaning my proprietorship will be treated the same way as though I had purchased the property in August. Will no one buy the property for half a year?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook mandates conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you could be impacted by that. How practical a view banks take of it, depend on the bank as this clause is chiefly there to capture subsales or the flipping of properties.
Two weeks ago we had a mortgage agreed in principle with HSBC. Codsall conveyancing practitioners were appointed. How long does it take for HSBC to issue the offer to the lawyer?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have HSBC conducted the survey? Have you informed HSBC as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the HSBC conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
I'm at the point of viewing houses in Codsall and I am about to put in an offer. Is it premature to have a solicitor in place? I intend to finance via a home loan with TSB.
It would be sensible to start your search sooner rather than later. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their details on to the selling agent. As you are taking out a mortgage with TSB, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the TSB conveyancing panel.
A relative advised me that where I am purchasing in Codsall I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is occasionally included in the estimate for your Codsall conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Codsall around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Codsall Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Codsall.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Codsall I like with amenity areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it only has 61 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Codsall suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be problematic. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you could request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.
Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years left on my flat in Codsall. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?
If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Codsall.
I inherited a basement flat in Codsall, conveyancing having been completed January 2001. 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 Codsall with a long lease are worth £185,000. The ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2086
With just 61 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £18,100 and £20,800 as well as legals.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.