I was notified recently by my broker that my Rainham Kent property lawyer is not on the lender Conveyancing panel. What can I do to check?
The best course of action for you to take is to call your Rainham Kent lawyer directly. You lawyer should inform you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the approved list of lawyers for your bank.
It is 10 years ago since I bought my home in Rainham Kent. Conveyancing solicitors have just been retained on the sale but I can't track down my deeds. Is this a major issue?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly the deeds may be retained by your mortgage company or they may still be with the conveyancers who oversaw the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the land will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers procuring up to date copy of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Rainham Kent relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is not registered it is more problematic but is resolvable.
is it true that all Rainham Kent solicitor firms on the Principality conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Principality conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the SRA. Some banks do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such organisation would be overseen by the CLC.
My wife and I are in the throws of looking at flats in Rainham Kent and I am now considering a potential offer. Should I already have a solicitor appointed at this stage? I intend to finance via a mortgage with Principality.
It would be advisable to start your search sooner rather than later. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the EA. As you are taking out a mortgage with Principality, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Principality conveyancing panel.
I've digested plenty of house buying guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Rainham Kent solicitor - who is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Aldermore will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Aldermore will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your solicitor will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Rainham Kent postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Aldermore, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Rainham Kent.
Given that I will soon part with £400,000 on 3 bedroom house in Rainham Kent I would like to have a conversation with the lawyer concerning theconveyancing prior to appointing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?
Absolutely - we would be pleased to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you speaking to the solicitor who will be conducting your conveyancing in Rainham Kent.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is unique person, not a file number. The law firms that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are provided with for residential conveyancing in Rainham Kent should be the figure that you are charged.
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Rainham Kent both have approximately 50 years unexpired on the leases. should I be concerned?
There are plenty of short leases in Rainham Kent. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease shortens the value of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena.
I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in Rainham Kent, conveyancing was carried out June 1996. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Rainham Kent with a long lease are worth £190,000. The ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease expires on 21st October 2087
With only 61 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £19,000 and £22,000 as well as legals.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.
My nephew is just in the process of moving home, he had his mortgage in principle. One the seller agreed the offer on the apartment we rang the bank to move forward with his. We were very surprised to learn that banks do not accept all property lawyer, they must be on their panel, is this correct?
Lenders tend to imposes restrictions either the type or the number of conveyancing practices on their panel. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that banks have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Rainham Kent property lawyer on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Presumably not.