I plan on buying a flat in Herne Hill. My lawyer is not on the lender solicitor list. Can I still appoint my Herne Hill conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the lender list of approved lawyers?
You have numerous choices available to you here
- Carry on with your preferred Herne Hill conveyancer but your lender will undoubtedly use a conveyancing practitioner on their approved panel. The net result is additional charges together with potential delay.
- Appoint a fresh solicitor to act in the purchase, ensuring that they are on the bank conveyancing panel.
- Convince your property lawyer to seek to join the lender panel
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unexperienced as FTB of a two bedroom flat in Herne Hill. Do I pick up the keys to the house on the completion date from my solicitor? If so, I will appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in Herne Hill?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the purchase money to the owner’s solicitors, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be able to pick up the keys from the selling Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Herne Hill. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. UBS 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 UBS your lawyer must check the conveyancing requirements set out in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for UBS. The CML Handbook sets out minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancing practitioners are required to report to UBS where a lease fails to satisfy these conditions. The specifications relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not isolated to Herne Hill.
I have finally had an offer on a flat in Herne Hill agreed to, but there is a chain. The sellers have placed an offer on a property, but it’s not been accepted yet, and are looking at other flats booked. I have instructed a nearby conveyancing solicitor in Herne Hill. What do I do now? When should I get the mortgage application with Yorkshire BS started?
It is normal to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (home loan application is approx one thousand pounds, then valuation, Herne Hill conveyancing search charges, etc). The first course of action is to ensure that your lawyer is on the Yorkshire BS approved list. Regarding the next stages this very much depends on the uniqueness of your transaction, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. During a buoyant market many purchasers would apply for the mortgage with Yorkshire BS and pay for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they pay their property lawyer to press on with searches.
A relative recommended that if I am purchasing in Herne Hill I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Herne Hill conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Herne Hill around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Herne Hill Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Herne Hill Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Herne Hill.
I used Stirling Law a few years ago for my conveyancing in Herne Hill. Now, I need the files but cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?
You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Herne Hill of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and identified one close by in Herne Hill I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Herne Hill in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be problematic. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.
I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Herne Hill. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?
The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Herne Hill should include some of the following:
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Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property? Defining your rights in relation to the communal areas in the block.By way of example, does the lease grant a right of way over a path or hallways? Rent payments - what is payable and when you need to pay, and be on notice if this is subject to change Alterations to the flat What you can do if an adjoining owner is in violation of a provision in their lease?
I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a Herne Hill conveyancing firm to assist?
You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Herne Hill conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Herne Hill residence is 66 Southwell Road in March 2012. By Order of Deputy District Judge Stone dated 25 January 2012 a vesting order was made. The determination of the purchase price was referred to the Tribunal who decided that the amount payable for the freehold should be£29,612.00 This case related to 3 flats. The unexpired lease term was 72.58 years.