My wife and I are planning to buy a property in Raunds and have appointed a Raunds conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Coventry Building Society have this morning contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Raunds solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. 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 property lawyer should contact your bank 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Raunds solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
We have rather assertive vendors who has insisted on a lock out agreement with a non-refundable deposit two thousand pounds. Are such agreements sensible?
This type of agreement is not the norm in Raunds, conveyancers will often direct clients away from them as they detract from focusing on the primary objective, namely conveyancing and if you end up having your deposit forfeited then the lawyer is left exposed. Secondly, there is no certainty that just because the owner has executed an exclusivity contract they will complete the sale with you. They may be in contravention of the contract if they receive sufficient offer to do so because an aggrieved buyer with the benefit of a exclusivitycontract will still be legally obliged to show losses as a consequence of the breach and this may not equalise the financial upside that your vendor may obtain by breaking the contract, however morally condemnable the behaviour is.
Are the Raunds conveyancing solicitors identified as being on the Nationwide conveyancing panel, together with their details provided by Nationwide?
Raunds conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Nationwide conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Nationwide directly.
The Raunds conveyancing firm that just started acting on my purchase in Raunds have suddenly shut down. I only went with them because I needed a firm on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel and my preferred Raunds lawyer was not. I paid them £170 in advance. What should be my next steps?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors should be in a position to assist.
We expect to complete the disposal of our £200,000 maisonette in Raunds next Friday. The freeholder has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Raunds?
Raunds conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally necessitates the purchaser’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They may invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is above £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.
I am the registered owner of a studio flat in Raunds, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent flats in Raunds with a long lease are worth £265,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2100
You have 75 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.
My fiance is buying a leasehold flat in Raunds. He has received a fee estimate by the solicitor suggested by the selling agents totaling £1250 . It was fifteen years ago I sold and purchased a home and the fee was £440. Have fees really gone up that much?
What does the conveyancing estimate include? Is it just for the legal fees, or what you will be paying in total (for example Raunds searches, land registry fees, etc)