The vendors of the house we are hoping to buy hired a conveyancing solicitor in Kingston Vale who has insisted on a exclusivity contract with a payment of 5k. Is it wise to enter into such agreements?
There are two primary drawbacks with entering into any lock out contract (sometimes known as a no-shop agreement) is that it takes away the focus from making progress with the conveyancing work, so unless it requires minimal or no negotiation then it may transpire to be unhelpful. It is not promoted amongst Kingston Vale conveyancing lawyers as a result. The other main concern is the extent of the remedies available - an aggrieved purchaser is very unlikely to be granted injunctive relief to prevent the owner disposing of the property to an alternative purchaser, so the only remedy available under the contract will be the reimbursement of abortive costs and, in rare scenarios, the extra payment of damages.
I am purchasing a property in Kingston Vale. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Santander have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Santander your lawyer must follow the formal requirements outlined in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Santander. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook sets out minimum conditions for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancing practitioners are required to report to Santander where a lease does not meet these specifications. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not isolated to Kingston Vale.
The mortgage over my property is with Virgin Money for my property in Kingston Vale. Conveyancing was finalised a year ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Virgin Money?
Virgin Money must be informed of your intention in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Virgin Money’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Virgin Money directly. You need not do this via a Virgin Money conveyancing panel lawyer.
Having read lots of house buying guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Kingston Vale solicitor - who is on the TSB conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
TSB will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually TSB will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your property lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Kingston Vale postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with TSB, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Kingston Vale.
My wife and I have a 4 bedroom Victorian property in Kingston Vale. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Barclays Direct. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Kingston Vale and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also enquire as to the situation with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the purchase.
I am buying a new build apartment in Kingston Vale. 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 conveyancing.
Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Kingston Vale
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There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Please supply a car parking plan. 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 the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? Please confirm the Lease plans are architect prepared.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and identified one close by in Kingston Vale I like with a park and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 51 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Kingston Vale in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
Should you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be problematic. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you may ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
Should local authority consent be necessary to split a single dwelling into two appartments in Kingston Vale? This has taken place to a house adjacent to my house in Kingston Vale and was not aware of it happening until it was finished.
Planning consent is needed for splitting a single dwelling in Kingston Vale into flats but possibly not for reverting back to single dwelling-house so, in answer to your question, yes.