My wife and I are intent on acquiring property in Iver. My lawyer is not listed on the bank conveyancing panel. Is it possible for me to appoint my Iver conveyancing solicitor even though they are excluded from the lender panel?
You must use a solicitor to complete the formalities if you need a loan to buy your home. The lawyer will conduct all the appropriate due diligence on the property, make sure that you’re registered as proprietor and ensure that all the necessary mortgage paperwork is in order. One can instruct a Iver conveyancing practitioner of your choosing. Nevertheless, if the property lawyer appointed is not a member of the mortgage company conveyancing panel supplemental fees will arise as separate legal representation will be need by the mortgage company. Conveyancing panel applications may be submitted, so if your lawyer has not in the past applied for membership they should do so.
My husband and I are acquiring a new build apartment in Iver and my solicitor is informing me that she has to the lender to disclose incentives from the builder. I am under pressure to exchange and I have no desire to delay the conveyancing. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancer. A precondition to being on a lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
What happens if my solicitor is expelled from the Clydesdale Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Iver?
The first thing to point out is that, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.
I have been pointed in your direction by two or three local selling agents in Iver to locate a property lawyer on your site. Is there a financial upside for Estate Agents to promote your lawyers rather than another?
We don’t offer any referral fee for pointing buyers and sellers in our direction. We found it would be just too difficult a fee because home movers will think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I receiving any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.
I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Iver where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Iver conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as 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. This means that the buyer can avoid having 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 at the same time as completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.
My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in Iver. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Iver conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Iver premises is 164 Nestles Avenue in October 2013. The tribunal agreed with the proposed price of £20,158 for the freehold and determined that that sum is the amount to be paid into court This case affected 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 69 years.
The estate agent has suggested using their property lawyer for the conveyancing in Iver - won’t it be easier to just instruct them?
This is not necessarily the case and you are at liberty to instruct whichever property lawyer of your choosing for your Iver home move. The solicitor put forward by a 3rd party adviser may not necessarily be the right solicitor, they may recommend their own conveyancing firm who are based remotely. In this instance you may not have contact with your lawyer and due to the lack of continuity in the transaction, it may be difficult to obtain progress reports.