My fiance and I are planning to purchase a property in Little Hampton and have appointed a Little Hampton conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Bank of Scotland have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Little Hampton lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Little Hampton lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Little Hampton? What am I being asked for?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering laws require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to check the identity of the potential client they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing retainer. The Terms of Engagement that you need to sign will no doubt confirm this. Your lender will also require certain documents to be viewed. If you refuse to hand over identification documents, your solicitor will not be able to take you on as a client.
We are getting the release of further monies on our mortgage from Yorkshire BS as we want to conduct a loft conversion to our home in Little Hampton. Do we need to select a nearby Little Hampton solicitor on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel to handle the paperwork?
Yorkshire BS would not normally require a member of their conveyancing panel to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Yorkshire BS panel.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Little Hampton off the council. I have a mortgage agreed with Barclays. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Barclays, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Barclays conveyancing panel.
My offer on a detached house in Little Hampton has been accepted, the sellers do nevertheless have a dependent purchase. The owners have put an offer on a property, however it’s not yet agreed to, and are looking at other properties in the pipeline. I have selected a local conveyancing solicitor in Little Hampton. What do I do now? When do I get the mortgage application with UBS going?
It is understandable to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs too early (home loan application is in the region of one thousand pounds, then survey, Little Hampton conveyancing search fees, etc). The first thing to do is check that your property lawyer is on the UBS conveyancing panel. Regarding the next stages this very much dictated by the uniqueness of your case, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. In a hot market the majority of purchasers would apply for the mortgage with UBS and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to proceed with the conveyancing in Little Hampton.
Do I need to take out insurance to address the risk of chancel repairs when acquiring a property in Little Hampton?
Unless a prior purchase of the house took place post 12 October 2013 you may take it that conveyancing practitioners delivering conveyancing in Little Hampton to remain encouraging a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
I opted to have a survey completed on a house in Little Hampton ahead of instructing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. My surveyor advised that some lenders tend refuse to give a loan on this type of house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements from Nationwide. Should you wish to call us we can check via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Little Hampton. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Little Hampton to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Little Hampton where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Little Hampton conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.
I inherited a leasehold flat in Little Hampton, conveyancing having been completed in 1996. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Little Hampton with an extended lease are worth £190,000. The ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2086
With just 61 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £18,100 and £20,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.