We previously chose conveyancers located in Crystal Palace on the UBS solicitor panel. They are now charging me an additional sum for dealing with the UBS mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by UBS?
Unfortunately, so long as it is in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your conveyancer is entitled to levy a fee for this. This charge is not dictated by UBS but by your Crystal Palace solicitor. Plenty of firms on the UBS panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
I have a mortgage with Lloyds for my property in Crystal Palace. Conveyancing was finalised some time 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 Lloyds?
You must advise Lloyds prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Lloyds’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies 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 Lloyds directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Lloyds conveyancing panel lawyer.
I had an offer accepted on a property in Crystal Palace on 26/6/2025, valuation was booked 4 days later, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer retained, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Skipton and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Skipton conveyancing panel. Are Skipton 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 Skipton to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Skipton conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
I am purchasing a house and the lawyer has identified Chancel Repair for which the property may be obligated to pay because it falls into the area of such a church. She has recommended insurance. Is this really appropriate for conveyancing in Crystal Palace
Unless a previous acquisition of the house completed after 12 October 2013 you may assume that solicitors delivering conveyancing in Crystal Palace to remain recommending a chancel search and or chancel repair liability policy.
The deeds to our property can not be found. The conveyancers who handled the conveyancing in Crystal Palace 10 years ago have long since closed. What do I do?
Nowadays there are copies made of almost everything, and your lawyer will know exactly where to locate all the relevant documentation so you can purchase or sell your house without any difficulty. Where copies can’t be found, your conveyancer can arrange cover in the form of insurance or indemnities protecting you against future claims on your property.
I am buying a new build apartment in Crystal Palace. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.
Here is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Crystal Palace
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Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier?
I am looking at a two apartments in Crystal Palace which have in the region of fifty years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Crystal Palace is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat 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 Crystal Palace conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend 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 own a garden flat in Crystal Palace. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium payable for a lease extension?
Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Crystal Palace conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Crystal Palace flat is Flat 1 4 Border Crescent in March 2012. the Tribunal decided that the sum payable by the Applicants to the Respondent in respect of the new lease for the subject property should be £11,616.00 (ElevenThousand and Six Hundred and Sixteen Pounds) This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 72.04 years.
My property lawyer in Crystal Palace is asking me for ID documents saying that this is part of his obligations as a conveyancer on the mortgage company Solicitor panel. Am I being spun a yarn?
Due to Money Laundering Regulations your conveyancing lawyer is duty bound to confirm positively your identification when entering into a business relationship with you. It is a criminal offence if your lawyer not do this. If you do not provide ID early in the transaction the solicitor must refuse to act for you. It’s unlikely a lawyer will turn you away if you come to the first meeting without relevant ID but you will have to produce it at some point so you might as well bring it with you to the initial meeting so the lawyer can tick the ID verification box and start sorting out the conveyancing straight away. If you are getting a mortgage, your lawyer also has to check ID documents to satisfy the lender. This is not unique to conveyancing in Crystal Palace