My husband and I are looking to purchase a house in Ealing and have appointed a Ealing conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Platform Home Loans Ltd have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Ealing lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the purchaser's lender. 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 solicitor should contact your lender 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 as you are at liberty to use your preferred Ealing lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
I am the registered owner of a freehold house in Ealing but nevertheless invoiced for rent, why is this and what is this?
It’s unusual for properties in Ealing and has limited impact for conveyancing in Ealing but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back hundreds of years, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the establishment of new rentcharges from 1977 onwards.
Old rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence in 2037 is to be extinguished.
I am buying my first flat in Ealing with a loan from Bank of Ireland. The developers refused to budge the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The sale representative advised me not reveal to my lawyer about this deal as it could affect my loan with Bank of Ireland. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the UK Finance website. UK Finance form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Ealing before retaining conveyancers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor has said that some mortgage companies tend not grant a loan on a flying freehold home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different requirements from Halifax. If you call us we can investigate further via the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Ealing. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Ealing especially if they are accustomed to such properties in Ealing.
Following years of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Ealing. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
Where there is a absentee 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 First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to calculate the price.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Ealing flat is Flat 4 38 The Mall in April 2014. the Tribunal held that the premium payable for the lease extension to be £25,451 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 68.7 years.
Are there common problems that you see in leases for Ealing properties?
There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Ealing. Most leases are drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:
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Insurance obligations Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
You could have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, Leeds Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.
How do I search for a Ealing conveyancing solicitor on the mortgage company conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel up to 25kilometers to attend the conveyancer.
You can use the find a conveyancing panel tool on this website. Please choose the lender and your location, in this case Ealing and you will see a number of lawyer located nearest Ealing. Alternatively you can type in the name of your proposed law firm and see if they are listed as being on the mortgage company solicitor panel.