I am nearing exchange of contracts for my maisonette in Dunstable and the EA has just e-mailed to advise that the buyers are changing their property lawyer. The excuse is that the lender will only work with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a major lender only deal with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Dunstable ?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for many years.
Banks point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
A relative suggested that if I am purchasing in Dunstable I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is usually included in the estimate for your Dunstable conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Dunstable around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Dunstable Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Dunstable.
I have todaydiscovered that Stirling Law have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in Dunstable for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 18 months ago. How can I be sure that the property is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?
The quickest method to see if the property 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 Dunstable conveyancing specialists.
I am looking for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in Dunstable I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 51 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Dunstable suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
If you need a home loan that many years will be problematic. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.
Given that I will soon spend over three hundred thousand on a house in Dunstable I wish to talk to a conveyancer concerning thetransaction prior to giving the go ahead to the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?
We could not agree more - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you speaking to the solicitor who will be doing your conveyancing in Dunstable.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is unique individual, not a file number. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are quoted for residential conveyancing in Dunstable should be the figure that you end up paying.
I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Dunstable. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.
If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Dunstable - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
I bought a split level flat in Dunstable, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar flats in Dunstable with an extended lease are worth £171,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2104
You have 79 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as costs.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.