I chose a local firm for our conveyancing in Goodmayes today. After carefully reading the official terms of business I seeI am on the hook for fees even if the dealfalls through. Should I go with them or instruct an internet conveyancing brokerage advertising no completion no cost conveyancing in Goodmayes?
It is usually a trade off in that if "No Sale No Fee" is advertised then the conveyancing charges will tend to be be more expensive to cover those cases that do not proceed. You should be mindful that such offerings rarely protect you from expenses for example Goodmayes conveyancing search fees.
The Goodmayes conveyancing solicitors that I recently instructed on my purchase in Goodmayes have without warning closed. They were on acting for me because I needed a lawyer on the Skipton conveyancing panel and my preferred Goodmayes lawyer was not. I paid them money on account. What do I do now?
If you have an estate agent involved then inform them straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Skipton conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors should be in a position to help.
I currently have a mortgage with Nottingham for my property in Goodmayes. Conveyancing was finalised some time ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Nottingham?
Nottingham must be informed of your intention in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Nottingham’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies 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 Nottingham directly. You need not do this via a Nottingham conveyancing panel solicitor.
I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in Goodmayes. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their property lawyer. I paid an advanced payment of £175. Shortly after, the solicitor called me to say that they were not on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Kent Reliance panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
I am due to exchange contracts on my house. I had a double glazing fitted in November 2010, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, Barclays are being pedantic. The Goodmayes solicitor who is on the Barclays conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Barclays are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Barclays have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Barclays have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Barclays 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.
Should I be concerned about estate agents that I am dealing with are recommending an online conveyancing firm as opposed to a local Goodmayes conveyancing firm?
As is the case with lots of professional services, often recommendations from connections can be extremely useful or valuable. Yet there are many players in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, mortgage brokers and mortgage companies might all recommend solicitors to use. On occasion these conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as experts in their field, but sometimes there may be a financial incentive behind the recommendation. You are free to choose your preferred lawyer. However, bear in mind that many lenders operate an approved list of lawyers you must use for the lender related work in your transaction.
Am I better off to instruct a Goodmayes conveyancing solicitor in close proximity to the house I am purchasing? An old friend can perform the legal formalities but her office is 200kilometers drive away.
The benefit of a high street Goodmayes conveyancing firm is that you can attend the office to sign paperwork, deliver your ID and pester them where appropriate. They will also have local knowledge which is a plus. However it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust used your friend and in the main were happy that must surpass using an unfamiliar Goodmayes conveyancing lawyer just because they are round the corner.
I work for a busy estate agent office in Goodmayes where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Goodmayes conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has been the owner 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 sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 buyer.
I have given up seeking a lease extension in Goodmayes. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Goodmayes conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Goodmayes property is 49 Aldborough Road South in July 2012. The Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of the new lease was £13,925 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 61.36 years.