My wife and I are intent on purchasing an apartment in Colney Hatch. My Conveyancer is not listed on the mortgage company approved panel. Can I still continue with my Colney Hatch conveyancing solicitor even though they are not on the bank approved list?
You have a couple of alternatives open to you here
- Carry on with your existing Colney Hatch property lawyer but your bank will no doubt retain a lawyer from their approved panel. The net result is additional fees together with potential interruption.
- Appoint a new conveyancing practitioner to conduct the conveyancing, making sure they are on the mortgage company conveyancing panel.
- Convince your solicitor to do everything possible to join the mortgage company panel of solicitors
My aunt passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Colney Hatch. The house had a relatively small loan remaining of approximately £8000. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Aldermore, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
Given you intend to refinance then Aldermore will require that you use a conveyancer on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Aldermore conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Aldermore mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
My wife and I are in the process of looking at flats in Colney Hatch and I am now considering a potential offer. Should I already have a solicitor appointed at this stage? I am planning to take a mortgage with Barclays.
It would be advisable to instigate 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. Given that you are getting a mortgage with Barclays, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Barclays conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
I have a mortgage with Coventry BS for my property in Colney Hatch. Conveyancing was finalised 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 BTL mortgage or inform Coventry BS?
Coventry BS must be informed of your intention prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Coventry BS’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent 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 Coventry BS directly. You need not do this via a Coventry BS conveyancing panel lawyer.
I was told two weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Bank of Ireland. Is it usual for Bank of Ireland to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Colney Hatch is approved on their conveyancing panel? Bank of Ireland have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their PI Insurance.
A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Bank of Ireland to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
I have been told that property searches are a common reason for stalling in Colney Hatch conveyancing transactions. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released findings of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the common causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Searches are unlikely to feature in any delay in conveyancing in Colney Hatch.
My husband and I are one month into a leasehold purchase having been referred to solicitors by the local agent to do our conveyancing in Colney Hatch. I am not happy. Could you you assist me in finding new solicitors?
A conveyancer would need to be really poor to suggest changing them. Has your loan offer been sent? If so you must advise them of the new lawyer and get the loan are re-issued. Your conveyancer needs to be on the banks panel to avoid escalating costs and complications. That should be your starting point. The find a solicitor tool will assist you in finding a lender approved solicitor for your conveyancing in Colney Hatch
There are only 62 years unexpired on my lease in Colney Hatch. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?
If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Colney Hatch.
Having spent years of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Colney Hatch. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Colney Hatch conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Colney Hatch premises is 90 & 96 Poplar Grove in June 2013. It was held by the Tribunal that the premium to be paid for the new lease in respect of each of the flats referred should be £17,942 This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 68 years.