Me and my husband are acquiring a leasehold flat in Crowborough. My lawyer is not on the mortgage company solicitor panel. Is it possible for me to use my Crowborough conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the mortgage company panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
Various options include
- Carry on with your chosen Crowborough solicitor but your lender will undoubtedly instruct a solicitor on their approved panel. This will result in additional cost together with potential interruption.
- Appoint a new solicitor to act in the purchase, making sure they are on the bank conveyancing panel.
- Convince your property lawyer to pull out all the stops to get listed on the lender’s panel of solicitors
Is it the case that all Crowborough solicitors on the RBS conveyancing panel are overseen by the SRA?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the RBS approved list of solicitors they would need to be overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of lenders do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be overseen by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Barclays. I assume I don't need a Crowborough conveyancing practitioner on the Barclays panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Barclays 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 Barclays mortgage from the register. Barclays, 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 Barclays has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Barclays has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I had an offer accepted on a property in Crowborough on 10/12/2024, valuation was booked 2 days later, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer retained, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Yorkshire BS and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. Are Yorkshire BS entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Yorkshire BS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
I have justbeen informed that Action Conveyancing have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Crowborough for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 12 months ago. How can I be sure that the property is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?
The quickest method to see if the premises is in your name, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Crowborough conveyancing specialists.
How does conveyancing in Crowborough differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Crowborough approach us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is constructed. This is because developers in Crowborough typically acquire the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Crowborough or who has acted in the same development.
I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Crowborough both have in the region of fifty years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?
There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Crowborough is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Crowborough conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.
I inherited a leasehold flat in Crowborough, conveyancing was carried out in 1999. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar flats in Crowborough with over 90 years remaining are worth £175,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2083
With only 58 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £23,800 and £27,400 as well as professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.
Is it true that a Crowborough conveyancing company taken to court by a client for not carrying out the right conveyancing investigations?
We are not aware of such a Crowborough conveyancing claim but it has been reported that, a couple acquiring a home in Cumbria successfully sued their property lawyer as a consequence of development permission to build a wind farm not being picked up in conveyancing searches.
Where you are buying in Crowborough It is important that your conveyancer purchase all Crowborough conveyancing searches required making sure that you have relevant and current information before purchasing a home in Crowborough.