My partner and I are looking to acquire a flat in Custom House and are in fact using a Custom House conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Chelsea Building Society have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Custom House lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. 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 mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Custom House solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Last December we completed a house move in Custom House. We have noticed several problems with the house which we suspect were overlooked in the conveyancing searches. What action can we take? Can you clarify the nature of searches that needed to have been conducted as part of conveyancing in Custom House?
It is not clear from the question as what problems have arisen and if they are unique to conveyancing in Custom House. Conveyancing searches and due diligence undertaken as part of the buying process are supposed to help avoid problems. As part of the process, the vendor completes a questionnaire referred to as a Seller’s Property Information Form. answers proves to be misleading, then you may have a claim against the vendor for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Custom House.
We're in Custom House, First timers purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Coventry BS , and our solicitor is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no property lawyer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
Me and my partner are purchasing a apartment in Custom House. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a conveyancer? At some point we will need to put money into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our monies?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
I can see plenty of here regarding conveyancing in Custom House but what is your top tip for appointing the right conveyancer in Custom House
It would be unwise to be tempted by the lowest Custom House conveyancing quote. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in ahead of time.
My fiancee and I are at the point of looking at houses in Custom House and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it advisable to have a conveyancing practitioner on ‘stand by’? I will be getting a mortgage with Barclays.
It would be sensible 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 pass their details on to the selling agent. Given that you are getting a mortgage with Barclays, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Barclays conveyancing panel.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our house can not be found. The solicitors who did the conveyancing in Custom House 5 years ago are no longer around. What are my options?
In today’s world there are copies made of almost everything, and your conveyancer will be aware exactly where to locate all the relevant paperwork so you can purchase or sell your house without a hitch. Where duplicates can’t be found, your lawyer may be able to arrange cover in the form of insurance or indemnities protecting you against possible claims on your property.
I am attracted to a two apartments in Custom House both have in the region of 50 years left on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?
There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Custom House is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. For most purchasers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. 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 premises 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 residence 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 Custom House 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 have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a Custom House conveyancing firm to represent me?
Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the sum to be paid.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Custom House property is 46 Credon Road in January 2014. On 11 September 2013 Deputy District Judge Price sitting at the Bow County Court made a vesting order that the freeholder surrender his lease and be granted a new lease of the Premises on such terms as may be determined by the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).The appropriate sum as concluded by the Tribunal was £7225 This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 69.77 years.