My partner and I are planning to acquire a property in Fairlop and are in fact using a Fairlop conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Clydesdale have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Fairlop solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer 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 lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Fairlop solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
We intend to purchase a 1 bedroom apartment in Fairlop with a loan from Barnsley Building Society.We have a Fairlop conveyancing lawyer but Barnsley Building Society informed us she’s not listed on their "panel". We have to appoint a Barnsley Building Society panel solicitor or retain our preferred solicitor and fork out for a Barnsley Building Society panel lawyer to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that Barnsley Building Society use our lawyer?
Unfortunately,no. The loan offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, a common one being that lawyers must be on the Barnsley Building Society approved list. Until recently, most mortgage companies 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. Another option that might be available is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Barnsley Building Society
My friend suggested that where I am buying in Fairlop I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is occasionally included in the estimate for your Fairlop conveyancing searches. It is a large report of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Fairlop around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Fairlop Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Fairlop.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £245,000 and found one round the corner in Fairlop I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, however it only has 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Fairlop in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Discount the price by the amount the 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 could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.
I was recommended by two or three local estate agents in Fairlop to locate a solicitor on your site. What’s the financial upside for Estate Agents to promote your services over and above a competitor’s?
We refuse to make any commission for sending work our way. We found it would be just too difficult to pay a commission as a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.
I've recently bought a leasehold property in Fairlop. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a Fairlop conveyancing firm to represent me?
Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to determine the sum to be paid.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Fairlop residence is 104 Coventry Road in July 2014. The Tribunal determined that the lease extension permium should be £22,896.15 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 60.29 years.