Me and my fiance are purchasing a 3 bedroom flat in Limehouse with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Limehouse solicitor, but the bank advise she’s not on their "panel". It seems we have no option but to use one of the mortgage company panel conveyancing practices or continue with our Limehouse property lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. We regard this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your Limehouse conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
We note that you have a post code search directory identifying solicitors on the Santander conveyancing panel. Do companies pay you a referral fee if I retain them for our own conveyancing in Limehouse?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Santander conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Limehouse.
I purchased a 4 bedroom Edwardian property in Limehouse. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Britannia. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You need to assess 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 Limehouse 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 check the position with the conveyancing lawyer who conducted the purchase.
I am purchasing a new build house in Limehouse with a loan from Santander. The sellers would not move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The estate agent told me not inform my solicitor about this extras as it may put at risk my loan with the bank. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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 opted to have a survey completed on a property in Limehouse in advance of instructing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. The surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will refuse to give a mortgage on a flying freehold home.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different instructions from Halifax. If you e-mail us we can investigate further via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Limehouse. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Limehouse where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Limehouse conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process 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. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. 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 disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.
We have reached the end of our tether in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Limehouse. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Limehouse conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Limehouse property is 26 Rhondda Grove in June 2009. The net price payable by the leaseholders as determined by the Tribunal was £3,015.13. This comprised £11,300 premium for the reversion less £8,284.87 costs as ordered by the County Court.