Please help. My Hampstead conveyancer is informing me me that he has toconduct Hampstead conveyancing searches becausethe firm are on the Santanderconveyancing panel. These Hampstead checks cost a lot of money can this be avoided?
You have limited options available to you. Given that you are taking out a loan with a mortgage company your conveyancing practitioner has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook provisions . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Hampstead conveyancing searches.
I am the registered owner of a freehold premises in Hampstead but nevertheless pay rent, why is this and what is this?
It is rare for properties in Hampstead and has limited impact for conveyancing in Hampstead 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 many centuries, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the creation 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 after 2037 is to be extinguished.
I'm the sole recipient of my late father’s will with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Hampstead. The Hampstead property was put into my name in January. I plan to dispose of the property. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', meaning my proprietorship will be regarded the same way as though I had purchased the property in January. Do I have to wait 6 months to sell?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook mandates conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you could be impacted by that. How practical a view banks take of it, depend on the mortgage company as this clause principally exists to identify the purchase and immediately sell or the flipping of property.
I currently have a mortgage with UBS for my property in Hampstead. Conveyancing was finalised a year 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 UBS?
Your original mortgage agreement with UBS will provide that you need their approval in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of UBS’s mortgage conditions. It may be that UBS 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 UBS directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a UBS conveyancing panel solicitor.
I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in Hampstead. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £200. A few days later, the lawyer called me to say that they were not on the Coventry BS 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 Coventry BS 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.
My partner and I are selling our home in Hampstead and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being built on contaminated land. A high street Hampstead conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers are using a national conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Hampstead. Having lived in Hampstead for many years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to obtain confirmation that the buyers are looking for.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing solicitor already. What do they say? You must enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same illness)
I am buying a new build apartment in Hampstead. 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 is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Hampstead
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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. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. The Vendor must covenant to keep unoccupied units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore.
I am soon to exchange on the purchase a house in Hampstead but as a result of wreckage from the recent storms I have agreed recompense from the current proprietors of £3k taking the form of a deduction in the price. This was going to be addressed as part of the conveyancing process but the bank will not agree to this. Why were they notified?
Any conveyancer being on a bank approved list is required to advise the lender of any variations to the purchase figure. If you were to refuse your conveyancer to report the reduction to your mortgage company then they would have no choice but to refrain from representing you and the mortgage company.