Our lawyer has discovered a a problem with the lease for the apartment we are buying in Putney Vale. The other side have put forward title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our conveyancing practitioner has advised that he must ensure that the bank is content with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the mortgage company ?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the mortgage company are the client. Your conveyancing practitioner must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the bank can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
My fiancee and I are spending time looking at apartments in Putney Vale and I am about to put in an offer. Is it sensible to have a conveyancing practitioner on ‘stand by’? I am planning to take a mortgage with Coventry BS.
You should start obtaining conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the estate agent. Given that you are getting a mortgage with Coventry BS, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
I have a mortgage with Barclays for my property in Putney Vale. Conveyancing has been completed months ago. In the event that I decide to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Barclays?
Your original mortgage agreement with Barclays will provide that you need their approval before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Barclays’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Barclays will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Barclays directly. You need not do this via a Barclays conveyancing panel solicitor.
I am selling my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in July 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Nottingham are being problematic. The Putney Vale solicitor who is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Nottingham are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Nottingham have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Nottingham have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Nottingham may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
My colleague advised me that where I am purchasing in Putney Vale I should ask my conveyancer to perform a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Putney Vale conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out significant information about Putney Vale around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Putney Vale.
five months have elapsed since my purchase conveyancing in Putney Vale took place. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £160,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Putney Vale where we see a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Putney Vale conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Putney Vale conveyancing firm to represent me?
You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Putney Vale conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Putney Vale property is 158 West Hill in November 2010. the Tribunal held that the premium to be paid for the freehold reversion should be £99,650 This case related to 7 flats. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 75.88 years.
Do I cancel the direct debit for my mortgage with Aldermore once a completion date for my sale in Putney Vale has been set?
You are best advised to continue meeting any mortgage payments to Aldermore pending the mortgage being paid off on completion as part of your Putney Vale conveyancing.