I am not well enough to travel far from Lutterworth. Is there a reason why all Lutterworth property lawyers are not on all mortgage company panels?
Even though it may seem unfair for lenders to restrict who can represent them, from the public’s or lawyer’s point of view, the other side of the coin is that mortgage companies are increasingly anxious and feel it imperative to protect them against illegal activities. As a result of this concern lenders have consolidated their panel of approved conveyancing lawyers to a size that they are happy to control.
It is a dozen years since I acquired my house in Lutterworth. Conveyancing lawyers have now been retained on the sale but I am unable to locate my title documents. Will this cause complications?
Don’t worry too much. First there is a chance that the deeds will be retained by your mortgage company or they could still be with the solicitor who acted in your purchase. Secondly the chances are that the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Lutterworth involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is not registered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.
I'm the single recipient of my late grandmother’s will with all property in now in my sole name, including the my former home in Lutterworth. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in July. I now wish to sell up. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship will be treated the same way as though I had purchased the property in July. Is the property unsalable for six months?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook requires conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you may be impacted by that. How sensible a view mortgage companies take of it, depend on the lender as this clause chiefly exists to pick up on the purchase and immediately sell or the quick reselling of property.
Is it the case that all Lutterworth solicitor practices on the Santander conveyancing panel are overseen by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Santander approved list of solicitors they would need to be regulated by the SRA. Some banks do list licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such organisation would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
I currently have a mortgage with RBS for my property in Lutterworth. Conveyancing was finalised 12 months ago. Should I wish to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform RBS?
RBS must be informed of your intention prior to renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of RBS’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact RBS directly. You need not do this via a RBS conveyancing panel lawyer.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in Lutterworth?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Lutterworth. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Lutterworth where we see a few flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Lutterworth conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?
Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have 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 sale.
An alternative approach is 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 buyer.
I invested in buying a studio flat in Lutterworth, conveyancing having been completed 7 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Lutterworth with a long lease are worth £190,000. The ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2088
With 62 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £17,100 and £19,800 plus professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.
I need to switch lawyers as my Lutterworth lawyer is not on the mortgage company's approved list of conveyancing solicitors. How simple is it to change conveyancer?
In the event that you have not formally appointed a conveyancer to start work and have just received an estimate as to costs, you're perfectly free to choose a different solicitor to carry out your work for you. The best way is to get recommendations from friends or family who have actually used the solicitor or conveyancer in Lutterworth that you're considering.