We previously chose conveyancing lawyers with offices in Lambeth on the Coventry BS solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a separate fee for the legal aspects of the Coventry BS mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Coventry BS?
Provided it is contained in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your property lawyer is entitled to charge a fee for this. This fee is not dictated by Coventry BS but by your Lambeth conveyancer. Plenty of firms on the Coventry BS panel will quote an ‘acting for lender’ fee but some firms include it on their overall fee.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Aldermore. I assume I don't need a Lambeth conveyancing practitioner on the Aldermore panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Aldermore mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Aldermore mortgage from the register. Aldermore, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Aldermore has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Aldermore has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I can not fathom if my lender requires a lease extension. I have called into my local Lambeth building society branch on a couple of occasions and was reassured it wasn't a problem and they would lend. My Lambeth conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- called to say that they refuse to lend in accordance with their specific requirements. I simply don't know who is right.
The conveyancing practitioner must comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook Part 2 provisions for your bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
Me and my brother have a terraced Victorian property in Lambeth. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and National Westminster Bank. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the matching property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You need to read 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 proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Lambeth and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also question the position with your conveyancing solicitor who completed the work.
How does conveyancing in Lambeth differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Lambeth approach us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is finished. This is because builders in Lambeth tend to acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Lambeth or who has acted in the same development.
I have been advised by a number of property agents in Lambeth to find a solicitor using your seach tool. Is there a financial incentive for Estate Agents to market your services over and above another?
We refuse to give any financial incentive for sending work in our direction. We found it would be just too difficult a fee because a client could think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Lambeth with the aim of saving time on the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Lambeth can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers’ representatives. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Lambeth conveyancing deal. If a new share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible. If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing. You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Lambeth state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you fail to have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.
I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Lambeth conveyancing firm to assist?
in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to calculate the amount due.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Lambeth premises is Flats 12A & 19, Evelyn Mansions Carlisle Place in June 2009. The Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the new lease of Flat 12A is £168,824, For the other flat the price was set at £169,110 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 56 years.
Do I stop my mortgage payments with Kent Reliance as soon as a completion date for my home sale in Lambeth has been set?
No, you should keep meeting any mortgage payments to Kent Reliance until the mortgage is redeemed out of the proceeds of sale as part of your Lambeth conveyancing.