The Greenwich conveyancing solicitors that I recently instructed on my house acquisition in Greenwich have suddenly closed. I chose them because I needed a firm on the Nationwide conveyancing panel and my preferred Greenwich lawyer was not. I wrote them a cheque for £250 in advance. What should be my next steps?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know immediately so that they can let the sellers know 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 Nationwide 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 assist.
Are all Greenwich Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Skipton conveyancing panel?
A selection of lenders now use the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to join their panels.
How can we tell if a Greenwich conveyancing solicitor on the Kent Reliance panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Greenwich seeking recommendations is a sensible starting point. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always recommend that you speak with the lawyer carrying out your conveyancing.
The mortgage over my property is with Virgin Money for my property in Greenwich. 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 buy-to-let mortgage or inform Virgin Money?
You must advise Virgin Money in advance of renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Virgin Money’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 Virgin Money directly. You need not do this via a Virgin Money conveyancing panel lawyer.
Just had an offer accepted on a new build flat in Greenwich. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.
Set out below are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Greenwich
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There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified.
I opted to have a survey carried out on a property in Greenwich in advance of appointing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor advised that some lenders may not issue a loan on a flying freehold house.
It varies from the lender to lender. Santander has different requirements from Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can investigate further with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Greenwich. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Greenwich to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
Are there any apps to help identify a Greenwich law firm on the Halifax conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel upto 25miles to meet the lawyer.
Feel free to make use of the tool on this website. Please choose the lender and your location and you will see a number of Greenwich conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have listed some Greenwich conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can ring them to check if they are on the Halifax approved list
If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £175,000 maisonette in Greenwich in nine days. The management company has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Greenwich?
Greenwich conveyancing on leasehold flats often involves the buyer’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be content to assist. They are entitled to charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is above £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.
I am the registered owner of a first floor flat in Greenwich. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum payable for the purchase of the freehold?
Where there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the premium.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Greenwich premises is 73 Walerand Road in August 2012. the result of the findings of the Tribunal led to a premium to be paid for the extended lease in respect of Flat 73 in the sum of £10,040. The premium applicable in respect of Flat 85 was £5,710. This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 72 years.