My husband and I are looking to acquire a flat in Penkridge and have appointed a Penkridge conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Norwich and Peterborough Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Penkridge solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for 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 Accreditation 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Penkridge solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
What is the difference between a licensed conveyancer and conveyancing solicitor in Penkridge
There are two types of lawyers who can perform conveyancing in Penkridge namely licenced conveyancers or solicitors. Both professionals administer the legal services that required to complete the disposal or purchase of property. They are both duty bound to execute Penkridge conveyancing to the same quality and guidelines so you can be safe in the knowledge that your conveyancing will be properly administered and that all necessary steps will be suitably adhered to.
We are getting the release of further funds on our mortgage from Barclays as we intend to carry out improvements to our home in Penkridge. Do we need to select a local Penkridge solicitor on the Barclays conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
Barclays would not normally appoint firms on their conveyancing panel to handle the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Barclays panel.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Penkridge off the council. I have a mortgage offer with Coventry BS. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Coventry BS, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel.
Should commercial conveyancing searches reveal proposed roadworks that may impact a commercial property in Penkridge?
Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Penkridge will conduct a SiteSolutions Highways report as it reduces the time that conveyancers invest in looking into accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Penkridge. The report sets out definitive data on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Penkridge.
For each commercial conveyancing transaction in Penkridge it is crucial to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been addressed adequately can result in delays to Penkridge commercial conveyancing transactions as well as pose a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not conducted for residential conveyancing in Penkridge.
I acquired my home on 2 February and my personal details is yet to be on the land registry website. Should I be concerned? My conveyancing solicitor in Penkridge advises it would be registered in a couple of weeks. Are properties in Penkridge uniquely lengthy to register?
As far as conveyancing in Penkridge registration is no faster or slower than the rest of the country. Rather than based on location, timescales can adjust depending on who lodges the application, whether there are errors and if the Land registry communicate with any other parties. As of today in the region of three quarters of such applications are fully addressed in less than three weeks but some can be subject to protracted delays. Registration takes place after the purchaser has moved in to the premises therefore an expedited registration is not typically an essential issue yet if it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your conveyancer could speak with the land registry and explain the circumstances.
My uncle has suggested that I use his conveyancers in Penkridge. Do I take his guidance?
No doubt it’s preferable to choose a conveyancing solicitor is to seek guidance from friends or relatives who have actually previously instructed the firm you're contemplating using.
I am attracted to a couple of flats in Penkridge which have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Penkridge is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat 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 Penkridge 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. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. 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.
Penkridge Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying
-
If a Penkridge lease has less than 80 years it will impact the salability of the flat. It is worth checking with your bank that they are content with remaining years on the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely require a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would be be obliged to have owned the property for two years before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension. Most Penkridge leasehold apartments will have a service charge for the upkeep of the building levied by the management company. If you acquire the flat you will have to pay this liability, normally quarterly during the year. This may differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common grounds. There will also be a ground rent to be met annual, normally this is not a significant figure, say around £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the lessees have control and although a managing agent is frequently retained if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.