Unfortunately I am unable to travel far from Piccadilly. What is the rationale as to why all Piccadilly lawyers are not on all lender panels?
Lenders highlight the fact that solicitor-led fraud is considered to be responsible for millions of pounds of fraud annually.The dismissal of law firms from lender panels started with the rise in mortgage fraud, which prompted a thematic review by the FSA in 2011. Its conclusions included recommendations for mortgage companies to review their conveyancing panels, which triggered a major policy change in the sector. This resulted in banks and building societies purging a number of firms off their books of approved property lawyers .
The owners have very brash vendors who has suggested a lock out contract with a non-refundable deposit 10k. Are such contracts recommended for Piccadilly conveyancing transactions?
This type of preliminary agreement is unusual in Piccadilly, conveyancers will often encourage clients away from them as they detract from the primary focus, namely conveyancing and if you end up losing your deposit then the lawyer is left exposed. Furthermore, there is no certainty that just because the proprietor has signed a lock out contract they will sell to you. They may breach the agreement if they are offered sufficient financial inducement to do so because a wronged purchaser with the benefit of a lockout agreement will still be obliged show losses as a consequence of the breach and this may not equalise the financial benefit that your seller may secure by breaking the contract, no matter how morally condemnable the behaviour is.
Finally the sale completed on my house in Piccadilly last April but our buyer keeps SMS messaging every few hours to say his lawyer is waiting to hear from mine. What are the post completion sale formalities now that I have sold?
After completion of your disposal your solicitor should forward the transfer documentation and all of the paperwork to the purchaser's conveyancer. Where appropriate, your conveyancer should also evidence that the mortgage has been discharged to the purchasers conveyancers. There are no post completion procedures specific conveyancing in Piccadilly.
Should my conveyancer be raising questions concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Piccadilly.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers specialising in conveyancing in Piccadilly. There are those who purchase a house in Piccadilly, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical damage, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or dispose of the premises. Steps can be carried out during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Solicitors are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, but there are a numerous searches that can be carried out by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which can figure out the risks in Piccadilly. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms given to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) includes a usual question of the vendor to find out if the property has ever been flooded. If flooding has previously occurred which is not notified by the owner, then a purchaser could commence a legal claim for losses as a result of such an inaccurate reply. The buyer’s lawyers should also carry out an environmental report. This will indicate if there is any known flood risk. If so, further inquiries should be carried out.
My wife and I own a 4 bedroom Victorian property in Piccadilly. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Aldermore. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the matching property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be 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 Piccadilly and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the position with your conveyancing practitioner who carried out the work.
Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold house in Piccadilly. Conveyancing and Halifax mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Piccadilly who acted for me is not around. What should I do?
The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Piccadilly conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
I am the proprietor of a ground-floor 1950’s flat in Piccadilly. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum payable for a lease extension?
in cases where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the price.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Piccadilly residence is Flat 1 3 Upper Belgrave Street in December 2010. The Tribunal determined that the price payablefor the Lease extension in respect of the subject premises was £2,202,007 This case related to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 21 years.