My fiance and I are planning to buy a home in Llanberis and are in fact using a Llanberis conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Bank of Ireland have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Llanberis conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. 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 bank 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 and you may continue to use your own Llanberis solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Our conveyancer has uncovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the property we are purchasing in Llanberis. The seller’s lawyers have put forward title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our conveyancer has advised that he must be satisfied that the mortgage company is willing to move forward with this solution. Are we the client or is the bank?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the risk of a conflict of interest, you and the bank are the client. Your conveyancer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. 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 considering applying for a Kent Reliance mortgage for purchase of a newly converted (under development) in Llanberis with 70% loan to value. Is it compulsory to choose a solicitor on the conveyancing panel for Kent Reliance ?
There is nothing to stop you using your solicitor, but Kent Reliance will insist on their interests being represented by a firm on their conveyancing panel. There is greater potential for delays and confusion with an additional lawyer added to the mix, and it will undoubtedly be more expensive too.
My friend recommended that if I am buying in Llanberis I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is occasionally included in the estimate for your Llanberis conveyancing searches. It is a large report of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out important information about Llanberis around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Llanberis.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one close by in Llanberis I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it only has 49 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Llanberis suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a home loan the shortness of the lease may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you could 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 consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.
Back In 2008, I bought a leasehold house in Llanberis. Conveyancing and Birmingham Midshires mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Llanberis who previously acted has long since retired. What should I do?
The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Llanberis conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
Llanberis Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing
-
How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Where a Llanberis lease has fewer than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the apartment. Check with your bank that they are content with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely need a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the property for 24 months in order to be entitled to extend the lease. Please tell me if there are any major works in the near future that could increase the maintenance costs?