My wife and I are hoping to purchase a property in Handforth and have appointed a Handforth conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Clydesdale have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Handforth solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional 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 solicitor 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Handforth lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
Our grandson is about to exchange on a new build apartment in Handforth with a home loan from Kent Reliance. His solicitor has said that there is a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
When looking at consumer advice sites for a cheap solicitor in Handforth, most comment that I should look for a CQS kitemarked lawyer. What is CQS?
The Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) provides a kitemark for residential conveyancing practices issued by the Law Society. Membership achievement establishes a level of credibility for member firms with stakeholders (regulators, lenders, insurers and consumers) based upon: * the integrity of the senior responsible officer and other key conveyancing staff * the firm's adherence to good practice management standards * adherence to prudent and efficient conveyancing procedures via the scheme protocol Membership covers numerous firms who conduct conveyancing in Handforth.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Handforth?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Handforth. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Handforth prior to appointing conveyancers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. My surveyor advised that some mortgage companies may refuse to give a loan on this type of house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Nationwide. If you contact us we can check with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Handforth. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Handforth especially if they regularly deal with such properties in Handforth.
What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Handforth conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?
When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Handforth conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Handforth conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions might be helpful:
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How many lease extensions have they carried out in Handforth in the last 12 months?
I inherited a leasehold flat in Handforth, conveyancing was carried out in 2009. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Handforth with an extended lease are worth £186,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease ends on 21st October 2077
With just 52 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £29,500 and £34,000 as well as legals.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.