My partner and I are hoping to acquire a property in Hope and have instructed a Hope conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Barnsley Building Society have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Hope conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is normal 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 solicitor should contact your lender 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 bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Hope lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
In the event thatI was to buy a simple residential homein Hope mortgage fee and have no survey and no local authority searches how much could I expect to to save on my conveyancing in Hope?
The sole saving you would make on is the disbursement for searches. A property lawyer still be obliged to do everything else - money laundering, communicating with the sellers lawyer, stamp duty return, register the property etc. You might save a bit for them not having to register a charge however it won't be significant.
Are the Hope conveyancing solicitors identified as being on the Lloyds conveyancing panel, together with their details provided by Lloyds?
Hope conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Lloyds conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Lloyds directly.
I acquired my house on 12 July and the transaction details is not yet on the land registry website. Should I be concerned? My conveyancing solicitor in Hope expressed confidence that it should be concluded inside ten days. Are properties in Hope particularly slow to register?
There is nothing unique about conveyancing in Hope registration formalities. Rather than based on location, timescales can vary subject to who lodges the application, whether there are errors and if the Land registry have to notify any third persons or bodies. At present roughly three quarters of submission are fully dealt with in less than three weeks but occasionally there can be extensive hold-ups. Registration occurs once the purchaser is living at the property therefore an expedited registration is not usually primary concern but where there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your lawyers could speak with the land registry and explain the circumstances.
I am buying a new build flat in Hope. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.
Here are examples of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Hope
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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. 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. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants.
I own a leasehold flat in Hope. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Hope who previously acted has long since retired. What should I do?
The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Hope conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
I invested in buying a 2 bed flat in Hope, conveyancing was carried out 4 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Hope with a long lease are worth £180,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2082
With only 58 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £22,800 and £26,400 plus legals.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed 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 should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.