Our lawyer has identified a a legal deficiency with the lease for the apartment we are buying in Kington. The other side have suggested defective title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will pay for it. Our lawyer has advised that he must check that the mortgage company is happy with this solution. Are we the client or is the mortgage company ?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the lender are the client. Your solicitor must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the mortgage company can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your conveyancing practitioner will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
I am buying my first flat in Kington with a mortgage from Barclays . The builders would not reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not inform my solicitor about this side-deal as it will put at risk my mortgage with the lender. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and found one close by in Kington I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, however it only has 49 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Kington in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the property for at least 2 years you can request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this.
Am I right to be concerned about estate agents that I am dealing with are suggesting a web based conveyancing firm rather than a local Kington conveyancing practice?
As with many service providers, often recommendations from relatives can be worth their weight in gold. Nevertheless there are many parties with a vested interest in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, mortgage brokers and lenders might all suggest conveyancers to retain. Sometimes the conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but sometimes there exists a financial incentive behind the endorsement. You have the right to appoint your preferred lawyer. You need to be aware that many mortgage providers operate an approved list of conveyancers you must use for the mortgage related work in your house move.
I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Kington where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Kington conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with 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.
I acquired a leasehold flat in Kington, conveyancing formalities finalised 8 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Kington with a long lease are worth £265,000. The ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease ends on 21st October 2099
With just 75 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £8,600 and £9,800 plus legals.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.
We are in the process of buying a house in Kington. Could our lawyer have our transaction price private from the likes of Rightmove. Is this achievable and how?
The Land Registry as a matter of law obliged to reveal price paid information on a register of the title for domestic properties countrywide including properties in Kington. The register of ownership is a public document, so the Land Registry would be breaching their statutory obligations if they failed to grant access to the register.
You can ask HM Land Registry to hide the price paid data however the answer would be in the negative.