My Orpington lawyer has identified an inconsistency between the information in the valuation report and what is in the title deeds. My solicitor has advised that he must check that the lender is happy with this discrepancy and is content to go ahead. Is my conveyancer’s approach legitimate?
Your solicitor must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications 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 both parties.
Are the BSA intent on creating a search tool with a view to list firms on the Loughborough BS conveyancing panel for instance in Orpington?
Lexsure has not been advised of any plans on the part of the BSA to develop such a tool.
A colleague suggested that where I am purchasing in Orpington I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is occasionally included in the estimate for your Orpington conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Orpington around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Orpington Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Orpington Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Orpington.
I am selling my property. My former solicitors has retired. I would be grateful for any recommendation of a conveyancing firm. Im based in Orpington if that makes a difference.
You should use our search tool to help you find a solicitor for your conveyancing in Orpington. We have connected thousands of home buyers and sellers with lender approved solicitors to ensure that the legalities of their house move runs smoothly.
Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Orpington with the intention of saving time on the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Orpington can be reduced if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers’ lawyers. Some Orpington leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers. If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a new share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Orpington conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later. The majority of landlords or Management Companies in Orpington levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold home. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Orpington. If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
I have had difficulty in negotiating a lease extension in Orpington. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
in cases where there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the price payable.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Orpington premises is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 50.57 years.
We are in the throes of a leasehold sale of a flat in Orpington. Conveyancing lawyers are doing their job but we are being charged a fortune by the freeholder. To date we have forked out £275 for a leasehold management pack and then a further £118 for supplemental queries supplied by the buyers conveyancer.
You will not have any say over the extent of the bill for this information however the average costs for the information for Orpington leasehold property is £380. For Orpington conveyancing transactions it is conventional for the vendor to pay for these charges. The freeholder or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will agree to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no statute that requires capped charges for administrative tasks. There is no prescriptive time frame by which they are duty bound to supply answers.