My fiance and I are looking to buy a property in Grange Park and are in fact using a Grange Park conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Norwich and Peterborough Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Grange Park lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent 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 property lawyer should contact your mortgage company 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 and you may continue to use your own Grange Park solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Would the conveyancing lawyers via your comparison service carry out attended exchange conveyancing in Grange Park?
There are a few conveyancing specialists carrying out attended exchanges. You should call us to get a costs illustration and details as to dates.
I am the registered owner of a freehold property in Grange Park but still invoiced for rent, why is this and what is this?
It’s unusual for properties in Grange Park and has limited impact for conveyancing in Grange Park 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 have existed for hundreds of years, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the generation of fresh rentcharges from 1977 onwards.
Old rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence in 2037 is to be dispensed with completely.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £235,500 and identified one round the corner in Grange Park I like with a park and station in the vicinity, however it's only got 51 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Grange Park for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will be problematic. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
I am 18 days into a residential purchase having been directed to solicitors by the high street agent to do our conveyancing in Grange Park. We are not happy. Could you help me find new solicitors?
A lawyer would need to be really bad to suggest replacing them. Has your loan offer been issued? In the event that it has you need to inform them of the new contact details and ensure the loan are re-issued. The solicitor ideally needs to be on the lenders panel to avoid added charges and frustration. That should be your starting point. The find a solicitor tool can help you find a lender approved conveyancer for your conveyancing in Grange Park
I work for a reputable estate agent office in Grange Park where we see a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Grange Park conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is 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.
Notwithstanding our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in seeking a lease extension in Grange Park. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Grange Park conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Grange Park premises is First Floor Flat 109 Lyndhurst Road in May 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 29th October 2009 the Tribunal decided on a figure of £5,012 for a lease extension. This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 81.79 years.