My fiance and I are intent on purchasing a ground floor flat in Forest Hill. My property lawyer is not listed on the bank approved panel. Is it possible for me to retain my Forest Hill conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the mortgage company panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
One must have a solicitor to complete the legal work required when you require a mortgage to buy your home. They will carry out all the relevant legal checks on the property, make sure that you will be properly registered as the owner and ensure that all the required mortgage documentation is dealt with. One could instruct a Forest Hill property lawyer of your choice. Nevertheless, if the conveyancer selected is not a member of the lender approved list supplemental charges will be levied as separate legal representation will be required by them. Lender panel applications can be submitted, so where your lawyer has not in the past sought membership they can do so.
The owners have rather assertive vendors who has suggested a exclusivity contract with a deposit 6,000. Is it wise to enter into such agreements?
This type of preliminary agreement is not the norm in Forest Hill, conveyancers will often sway clients away from them as they detract from the main conveyancing focus and if you end up having your deposit forfeited then the lawyer is left exposed. Furthermore, there is no assurance that just because the proprietor has signed an exclusivity contract they will sell to you. They may breach the contract if they are offered sufficient offer to do so because a wronged purchaser with the benefit of a lockout agreement will still be obliged show losses as a consequence of the breach and these may not equate the extra amount that the owner may gain by breaching the contract, however morally unworthy it undoubtedly is.
Various online forums that I have frequented warn that are a common cause of delay in Forest Hill house deals. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the determinations of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the most frequent causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are unlikely to be the root cause of slowing down conveyancing in Forest Hill.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and identified one round the corner in Forest Hill I like with a park and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 49 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Forest Hill suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?
If you require a home loan that many years will likely be problematic. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you could ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.
I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing lawyer in Forest Hill for my house move. Is it possible to check a firm’s complaints history with the profession’s regulator?
Anyone may review documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions arising from inquisitions started on or after 1 January 2008. Go to Check a solicitor's record. For details about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a solicitors history, ring 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For callers outside the UK, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator could monitor call for training purposes.
I work for a busy estate agent office in Forest Hill where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Forest Hill conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
After years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Forest Hill. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the premium.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Forest Hill residence is Flat 1 40-42 Ewelme Road in August 2012. the Tribunal assessed the premium for the lease extension in the sum of £11,800 This case related to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 61.81 years.