Me and my wife are buying an apartment in Crouch End. My Solicitor has never been on on the lender approved list. Is it possible for me to retain my Crouch End conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the mortgage company approved list?
You have a number of options open to you here
- Complete the purchase with your existing Crouch End solicitor but your lender will no doubt use a solicitor from their approved list. The net result is additional charges and likely frustration.
- Choose a fresh conveyancing practitioner to act in the purchase, ensuring that they are on the bank conveyancing panel.
- Convince your conveyancing practitioner to do everything possible to get accepted on the bank’s conveyancing panel
I am due to complete buying a house in Crouch End but as a consequence of damage from a small fire at the property I have was able negotiate reparation from the seller in the sum of six thousand pounds in the form of a adjustment in the price. This was going to be dealt with as part of amending the contract however RBS are not allowing this. Should they have been notified?
Your lawyer that is on the RBS approved list is required to advise RBS of any amendments to the sale price. If you prohibit your conveyancing practitioner to disclose the price change to RBS then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, RBS and you would have to appoint a new conveyancing practitioner for your conveyancing in Crouch End.
A colleague informed me that in purchasing a property in Crouch End there may be various restrictions limiting what one can do in terms of external alterations to a property. Is this right?
There are a number of properties in Crouch End which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Crouch End should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Yorkshire BS. I assume I don't need a Crouch End conveyancing practitioner on the Yorkshire BS panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Yorkshire BS mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Yorkshire BS mortgage from the register. Yorkshire BS, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Yorkshire BS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Yorkshire BS has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I have a mortgage with Nottingham for my property in Crouch End. Conveyancing was finalised months ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Nottingham?
Your original mortgage agreement with Nottingham will provide that you need their approval in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Nottingham’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 Nottingham directly. You need not do this via a Nottingham conveyancing panel lawyer.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I have offered on last month in what should have been a simple, no chain conveyancing. Crouch End is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Crouch End are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Crouch End you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Crouch End may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor for sale conveyancing in Crouch End. I happened to stumble across a site which seems to have the ideal offering If it is possible to get all formalities done via email that would be ideal. Do I need to be concerned? What should out be looking out for?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Crouch End with the aim of expediting the sale process?
- Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Crouch End can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy formality and delays many a Crouch End conveyancing deal. Where a new share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible. A minority of Crouch End leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors. You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale. The majority of freeholders or Management Companies in Crouch End charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold home. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Crouch End.
I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Crouch End conveyancing firm to help?
Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Crouch End conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Crouch End premises is Flat 2A 19 Shepherds Hill in June 2014. The tribunal concluded in accordance with section 48 and schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act (the 1993 Act) that the premium payable in respect of the grant of a new lease for the Flat be £24,303 (twenty four thousand three hundred and three pounds) This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 67.85 years.