My partner and I are planning to buy a home in Hope and have appointed a Hope conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Birmingham Midshires have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Hope lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is standard 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your bank 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Hope solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
The Hope conveyancing firm handling our Hope conveyancing has discovered a discrepancy when comparing the assumptions in the home valuation report and what is revealed within the conveyancing documents. My lawyer says that he is duty bound to ensure that the bank is OK with this discrepancy and is content to go ahead. Is my lawyer’s stance appropriate?
Your lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for both parties.
We are aiming to move house in September. Does my conveyancing solicitor update the removal company on the day of completion. On a separate note, can you recommend a removal company in Hope. Conveyancing lawyer was chosen before I stumbled across this site.
On the day of completion you can pick up the keys from your selling agent but this can only occur once the sellers lawyers inform the agent that they acknowledge receipt of the completion payment and the keys can be passed over. Subsequently you should advise the removal company that they can start moving you in. As a matter of policy we do not suggest a specific removal organisation but can assist you in choosing a residential property solicitor in Hope or a solicitor with expertise in conveyancing in Hope.
I happen to be the sole recipient of my late father’s will with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Hope. The Hope property was put into my name in June. I now wish to sell up. I do know about the CML six month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship will be considered the same way as though I had purchased the property in June. Will no one buy the property for half a year?
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 may be caught by that. How sensible a view mortgage companies take of it, depend on the mortgage company as this requirement is principally there to capture subsales or the quick reselling of properties.
Two weeks ago we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Lloyds. Hope conveyancing solicitors are chosen. How long does it take for Lloyds to send the offer to the conveyancer?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Lloyds done the valuation? Have you informed Lloyds as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Lloyds conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Hope. Conveyancing is necessary evil 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 legal work.
Set out below is a sample of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Hope
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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 supply a car parking plan. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease.
I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Hope. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I bought a leasehold flat in Hope, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2007. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Hope with a long lease are worth £211,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2093
With just 68 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.
Why do Hope conveyancing charges are more expensive for leasehold and freehold properties?
Inevitably there is more work involved for leasehold conveyancing. Hope has many leasehold properties. There is more hours involved in the purchase: for example, the lease and leasehold information (including current service charge, ground rent and buildings insurance details) obtained from the freeholder or managing agents. There are strict criteria that the lease must meet in order to be acceptable to a mortgage company. If it does not meet these requirements, the lease must be amended, which can involve additional expense for the seller.