My wife and I are buying a 3 bedroom flat in East Dean with a mortgage. We like our East Dean solicitor, but the bank advise she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel conveyancing practices or retain our East Dean conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. We consider that this is inequitable; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your East Dean conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Why is leasehold purchase conveyancing in East Dean is more expensive?
East Dean leasehold properties involve far more paperwork than a freehold purchase, and therefore takes more time to examine and advise upon.Conveyancing will involve the lease having to be checked which is usually a lengthy document, queries raised to ensure that the covenants and conditions have been observed. If it is a flat there will be a management company in existence and the accounts of this will need to be checked and enquiries raised to ensure it is operating efficiently and that all monies due have been paid by the Seller to the company and if not ensuring that money is paid up to date or the appropriate undertakings obtained.
I happen to be the sole beneficiary of my late grandmother’s will and I have everything in my name alone, including the house in East Dean. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in September. I now wish to sell up. I understand that there is a CML six month 'rule', which means that my property ownership could be considered the same way as though I had purchased the property in September. Is the property unsalable for six months?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook mandates conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you might be affected by that. How practical a view mortgage companies take of it, depend on the lender as this clause is principally there to capture the purchase and immediately sell or the quick reselling of properties.
I have a mortgage with Virgin Money for my property in East Dean. Conveyancing has been completed 12 months ago. In the event that I decide to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Virgin Money?
You must advise Virgin Money prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Virgin Money’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Virgin Money 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 Virgin Money directly. You need not do this via a Virgin Money conveyancing panel firm.
I am due to exchange contracts on my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in March 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, Nottingham are being difficult. The East Dean solicitor who is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Nottingham are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Nottingham have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Nottingham have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Nottingham may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in East Dean?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in East Dean. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
We are 18 days into a residential purchase having been referred to conveyancers by the estate agent to handle our conveyancing in East Dean. I am not happy. Could you help me find new solicitors?
A conveyancer would need to be very bad in order to consider changing them. Has the mortgage offer been generated? If so you need to advise them of the new contact details and have the offer are re-issued. Your solicitor ideally needs to be on the banks panel to avoid supplemental charges and frustration. So that should be your first question of the new conveyancers. The search tool can assist you in finding a lender approved lawyer for your home move in East Dean
I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in East Dean which have in the region of forty five years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?
There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in East Dean is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the property. For most buyers and lenders, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. 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 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 premises 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 East Dean 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. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. 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 purchased a 1 bedroom flat in East Dean, conveyancing was carried out February 2005. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding properties in East Dean with a long lease are worth £197,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease expires on 21st October 2081
With 55 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £31,400 and £36,200 plus legals.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.