Our Newham solicitor has spotted an inconsistency when comparing the surveyor’s assumptions in the home valuation survey and what is in the conveyancing documents. My lawyer says that he is obliged to ensure that the bank is happy with this discrepancy and is content to go ahead. Is my lawyer’s stance appropriate?
Your conveyancing practitioner must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
My brother-in-law has suggested I instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Newham. I need to find out if they are accepted on the Platform Home Loans Ltd approved list of lawyers. Can you or the lender confirm if they are on the panel?
The first thing you should do is contact your conveyancer and ask them whether they are on the lender panel. Alternatively you should get in touch with Platform Home Loans Ltd who may be able to help.
I require quick conveyancing in Newham as I am faced with pressure to complete inside 3 weeks. Thankfully I do not need a mortgage. Is it possible to decline from having conveyancing searches to save fees and time?
As you are not taking a mortgage you have the choice not to do searches although no conveyancer would recommend that you don't. Drawing on our experience of conveyancing in Newham the following are instances of what can be revealed and adversely affect future mortgageability: Refused Planning Applications, Overdue Charges, Overdue Grants, Railway Schemes,...
I am buying a new build house in Newham with a loan from Halifax. The sellers refused to reduce the price so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The estate agent suggested that I not reveal to my lawyer about the extras as it would put at risk my loan with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Newham both have in the region of 50 years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?
There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Newham is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the marketability of the premises. For most buyers and banks, leases with under 75 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 Newham conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending 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 any new 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.
I am the leaseholder of a ground floor flat in Newham. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium payable for a lease extension?
Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Newham conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Newham premises is 46 Credon Road in January 2014. On 11 September 2013 Deputy District Judge Price sitting at the Bow County Court made a vesting order that the freeholder surrender his lease and be granted a new lease of the Premises on such terms as may be determined by the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).The appropriate sum as concluded by the Tribunal was £7225 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 69.77 years.
We own a leasehold flat in Newham. Conveyancing was finished in 21012. I have heard that I should not allow the the remaining lease term to get too low. Is this correct?
Newham leasehold properties are for a fixed period - normally just under one hundred years when they commenced. However many appartments in Newham were built or converted 25 or more years ago and so such leases now have under eighty years left to run. This may sound like plenty of time but Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage institutions tend to require leases to have a minimum of seventy five years unexpired to be mortgageable. Accordingly when you come to sell the property you will need to extend the term of your lease if you are approaching 75 years. To maximise the marketability of your property you should be considering whether or not to extend your lease well in advance of selling the property. Furthermore strong financial reasons to doing so before the lease hits eighty years as when the lease is below 80 years the amount you have to pay to extend starts to get a lot more expensive.