My fiance and I are hoping to purchase a home in Hendon and have appointed a Hendon conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Santander have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Hendon 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' solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. 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 Accreditation 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 lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Hendon lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Leeds Building Society, do Hendon conveyancers face a fee to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are unaware of any bank fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Hendon. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Leeds Building Society have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As you are obtaining a mortgage with Leeds Building Society your lawyer must follow the formal requirements outlined in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Leeds Building Society. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook stipulates minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancers are required to report to Leeds Building Society where a lease fails to meet these conditions. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not restricted to Hendon.
My offer on a detached house in Hendon has been accepted, the vendors do nevertheless have an associated purchase. The sellers have put an offer on a property, however it’s not yet agreed to, and have viewings of other apartments booked. I have chosen a high street conveyancing solicitor in Hendon. What should be my next step? At what stage should I apply for the mortgage with Lloyds?
It is understandable to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (mortgage application is approx one thousand pounds, then survey, Hendon conveyancing search charges, etc). The first thing to do is check that your solicitor is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. Regarding the subsequent phase this very much dictated by the uniqueness of your transaction, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. In a rising market some home buyers would apply for a home loan with Lloyds and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they ask their property lawyer to proceed with the conveyancing in Hendon.
Is it simple use the search tool to locate a conveyancing solicitor in Hendon on the panel for my lender?
Step one is to select a lender such as Halifax, Virgin Money or Bank of Ireland then choose your preferred area for example Hendon. Conveyancing practices in Hendon and across England and Wales will then be identified.
I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing practitioner in Hendon for my house move. Is there any facility to see a solicitor's complaints history with the legal regulator?
Anyone may find documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions resulting from inquisitions from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For records about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's record, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For non-uk callers, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator sometimes monitor call for training purposes.
I am employed by a long established estate agency in Hendon where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Hendon conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?
Provided that 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 for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with 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 am the registered owner of a two-bedroom flat in Hendon. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount payable for the purchase of the freehold?
if there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to calculate the price payable.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Hendon property is First Floor Flat 61 Wilberforce Road in March 2014. The premium payable was £10,130 and the case was remitted back to the Willesden County Court to effect the Vesting Order (Claim No 3W103100). This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 71 years.
The conveyancing solicitors handling our conveyancing in Hendon has sent papers to review that state the property is unregistered with epitome documents. Why is the property not registred at HMLR?
Over ninety percent of property in Hendon is registered. An 'epitome' is basically a dossier of photocopies of documents affecting an unregistered title. Many Hendon conveyancing lawyers will be able to handle this type of conveyancing but where uncertainty exists the conventional recommendation nowadays is for the seller’s conveyancer to register it first and subsequently deal with the sale conveyance - this this chain of events will cause a significant delay.