My partner and I are looking to buy a house in Luton and have appointed a Luton conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Chelsea Building Society have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Luton conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for 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 Quality 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Luton lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
It is is a decade since I bought my home in Luton. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been instructed on the sale but I am unable to locate my title deeds. Will this cause complications?
Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be retained by your lender or they could still be with the solicitor who oversaw your purchase. Secondly in all probability the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring current official copies of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Luton involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is unregistered it is more problematic but is not insurmountable.
We are purchasing a apartment in Luton. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a conveyancer? On the day of competition we will need to deposit money into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our deposit?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
We expect to receive a AIP from Aldermore this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Aldermore recommend any Luton solicitors on the Aldermore conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?
You will need to appoint Luton solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Aldermore through the process.
I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in Luton. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £175. A few days later, the lawyer contacted me to say that they were not on the Skipton conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Skipton panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and found one close by in Luton I like with a park and station in the vicinity, however it's only got 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Luton suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.
I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have just found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Luton. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Luton ?
Most houses in Luton are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Luton so you should seriously consider looking for a Luton conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.
Luton Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before Purchasing
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What restrictions exist in the Luton Lease? Is anyone aware of any major works anticipated that will likely add a premium to the maintenance charges? Most Luton leasehold properties will incur a service charge for maintenance of the building invoiced by the landlord. If you buy the apartment you will have to pay this charge, normally periodically during the year. This could be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a exorbitant figure, say around £50-£100 but you should to check as occasionally it can be surprisingly expensive.
How up-to-date is your database of lawyers on the bank conveyancing panel in Luton? Do the mortgage companies send you an updated list?
Luton law firm practices and firms carrying out conveyancing in Luton themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the bank conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from the mortgage company directly.