My husband and I are hoping to buy a home in Maidenbower and are in fact using a Maidenbower conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Chelsea Building Society have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Maidenbower solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is normal 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 Quality Scheme. Your solicitor 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 lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Maidenbower solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Can the conveyancing lawyers that you recommend conduct right to buy conveyancing in Maidenbower?
We have identified a variety of conveyancing lawyers who can conduct right to buy transactions Please call us to get a costs illustration.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unseasoned as FTB of a two bedroom flat in Maidenbower. Do I receive the keys to the house on the completion date from my lawyer? If so, I will find a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Maidenbower?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will arrange to send the purchase money to the seller's solicitors, and once they have received this, you should be invited to pick up the keys from the property Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this happens early afternoon.
I'm spending time viewing houses in Maidenbower and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it best to have my property lawyer on ‘stand by’? I will be getting a home loan with HSBC.
You should start requesting conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their details on to the EA. Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with HSBC, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the HSBC conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
I was told four weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by RBS. Is it usual for RBS to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Maidenbower is approved on their conveyancing panel? RBS have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their PI Insurance.
A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for RBS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the RBS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
About to purchase a new build flat in Maidenbower. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.
Here are examples of a few leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Maidenbower
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Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Please supply a car parking plan. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company?
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and found one round the corner in Maidenbower I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Maidenbower for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will be an issue. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least 2 years 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 with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Maidenbower which have approximately fifty years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Maidenbower is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the premises. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Maidenbower conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Maidenbower - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing
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Most Maidenbower leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the building levied by the landlord. Where you acquire the apartment you will have to pay this liability, normally in instalments accross the year. This could differ from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a ground rent to be met yearly, this is usually not a exorbitant sum, say around £25-£75 but you need to check as occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds. Who are the managing agents? How much is the ground rent and service charge?