My fiance and I are hoping to purchase a house in Norwood Green and are in fact using a Norwood Green conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Nationwide Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Norwood Green solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is conventional 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 mortgage company 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Norwood Green lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Can you help? My Norwood Green conveyancer is informing me me that he has toorder Norwood Green conveyancing searches resulting from the fact thatthe firm are on the Virgin Moneysolicitor panel. Is my conveyancer right?
Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. As you are obtaining a mortgage with a bank your property lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook conditions . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Norwood Green conveyancing searches.
Me and my brother purchased a 4 bedroom Victorian property in Norwood Green. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Skipton Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
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 owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Norwood Green and other areas of 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 mortgage companies. You can also question the situation with the conveyancing solicitor who carried out the work.
How does conveyancing in Norwood Green differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Norwood Green approach us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is ready to move into. This is because builders in Norwood Green typically acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Norwood Green or who has acted in the same development.
I'm remortgaging my primary house to a buy to let mortgage with Chelsea Building Society and intend to use the remaining equity as a deposit on further property. The location we are interested in is Norwood Green. Will your conveyancers be able to act for the two mortgage companies and tie in the transactions?
Make use of our search tool on this site to ensure that the solicitors are approved by both mortgage companies. Assuming that they are the solicitor should be able to tie up the two conveyancing matters but you should talk with you conveyancer and communicate your desired outcome and needs.
I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Norwood Green which have about fifty years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?
There are plenty of short leases in Norwood Green. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the value of the lease deteriorates and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena.
I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can I apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Norwood Green conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?
Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Norwood Green conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Norwood Green residence is 6 Jessamine Road in August 2013. The Tribunals valuation (as annexed to the decision) calculated the amount payable as £18,355 for the freehold reversion This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 72.39 years.