My wife and I are hoping to purchase a flat in Richmond and have instructed a Richmond conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Birmingham Midshires have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Richmond solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent 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 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 Richmond solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
We see that you have a search directory identifying law firms on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. Do companies pay you a commission if I instruct them for our own conveyancing in Richmond?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Richmond.
Me and my brother purchased a terraced Georgian property in Richmond. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Platform Home Loans Ltd. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You need to read 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 owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Richmond and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also enquire as to the position with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the work.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and identified one near me in Richmond I like with a park and railway links nearby, however it's only got 61 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Richmond suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage that many years will likely be problematic. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.
Is it possible to transfer to a new firm as I have to select a firm on the Coventry Building Society conveyancing list. I instructed a local conveyancing solicitor in Richmond round the corner but he is not accepted by Coventry Building Society
We will our best to assist in finding you a conveyancing solicitor in Richmond on the Coventry Building Society panel. Please note that the conveyancers that we work with do not pay us fee if you instruct them and are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority who regulate all conveyancing solicitors in Richmond. In making use of search facility on this page, you can compare and instruct different solicitors and conveyancers both nationally and in Richmond.
In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Richmond what are the most common lease problems?
Leasehold conveyancing in Richmond is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:
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Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Skipton Building Society, and TSB all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.
I invested in buying a ground floor flat in Richmond, conveyancing having been completed March 2003. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable flats in Richmond with an extended lease are worth £195,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2088
With just 63 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £16,200 and £18,600 plus legals.
The figure 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 comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. 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 move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.