Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my solicitor in Nine Elms is not on my bank's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the quality of the firm’s conveyancing?
It would not be wise to jump to that conclusion. There are plenty of reasonable explanations. Just recently a report by the solicitors regulator indicated that over three quarters of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The most common reasons for removal are: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the solicitor is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Should you be concerned you should simply call the Nine Elms conveyancing practice and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.
I am helping my sister sell her house in Nine Elms. Will the solicitor commission an EPC or should I organise this?
After the demise of Home Packs, energy performance certificates was maintained a mandatory part of selling a house. An energy performance certificate must be commissioned in advance of the property being placed on the market. This is not something that solicitors normally arrange. If you are instructing a Nine Elms conveyancing practitioner they might be able to arrange energy performance certificates given their contacts with long established local assessors
I happen to be the sole recipient of my late father’s will with all property in now in my sole name, including the my former home in Nine Elms. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in February. I now wish to sell up. I understand that there is a CML six month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship could be regarded the same way as if I'd bought the house in February. Will no one buy the property for half a year?
The CML handbook mandates solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you could be impacted by that. many mortgage companies would take a practical view as this requirement chiefly exists to pick up on subsales or the flipping of property.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Virgin Money. I assume I don't need a Nine Elms solicitor on the Virgin Money panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Virgin Money mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Virgin Money mortgage from the register. Virgin Money, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Virgin Money has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Virgin Money has instructed the Land Registry to do so
My wife and I purchased a semi-detached Edwardian house in Nine Elms. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and The Royal Bank of Scotland. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the matching address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Nine Elms and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also enquire as to the position with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.
I opted to have a survey carried out on a house in Nine Elms before retaining conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the property. The surveyor has said that some mortgage companies tend not issue a loan on such a premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different instructions for example to Halifax. If you contact us we can look into this further via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Nine Elms. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Nine Elms to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
Completion is due on our sale of a £400,000 garden flat in Nine Elms next Wednesday. The managing agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Nine Elms?
Nine Elms conveyancing on leasehold flats usually involves the purchaser’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty to invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is above £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.
I own a garden flat in Nine Elms. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum due for the purchase of the freehold?
if there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the amount due.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Nine Elms residence is 150A Albert Palace Mansions Lurline Gardens in July 2013. The Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the new lease of the subject property was £42,069 This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 57.06 years.
I am buying a house mortgage free. My conveyancer has been given with two distinct evidence of photographic identification, bank statement, numerous utility bills. Now he wants a copy from a probate lawyer stating that the funds are legitimate and that it has come from inheritance and not selling fake DVD.
In today’s world you will not be able to complete any Nine Elms conveyancing transaction without first providing evidence of your identity to your lawyers. This usually takes the form of a either your passport or driving licence and a utility bill. Remember if you are providing your driving licence as evidence of ID it must be both the paper part and photo card part, one is not acceptable without the other. Establishing of your source of funds is required under Money Laundering laws.