Our conveyancer has identified a a problem with the lease for the flat we are purchasing in Richmond. The other side have offered title insurance as a solution. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our property lawyer has advised that he must check that the bank is content with this solution. Are we the client or is the lender?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the risk of a conflict of interest, you and the bank are the client. Your conveyancer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the lender 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 property lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
Having sold my house in Richmond last June but the buyer keeps SMS messaging daily to moan that his lawyer needs to hear from mylawyer. What should my lawyer have done now that I have sold?
Following your sale your solicitor should forward the transfer documentation and all additional paperwork to the buyer’s solicitors. Depending on the transaction, your solicitor should also send confirmation that the home loan has been repaid to the purchasers conveyancers. There are no post completion tasks unique to conveyancing in Richmond.
We're in Richmond, FTBs purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Nottingham , and our solicitor is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no solicitor should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
I have todayfound out that Arc property Solicitors have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Richmond for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 9 months ago. How can I check that my home is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?
The easiest way to see if the premises is in your name, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Richmond conveyancing specialists.
Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Richmond ahead of appointing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. My surveyor advised that some banks may not grant a mortgage on such a premises.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to call us we can look into this further via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Richmond. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Richmond especially if they are acquainted with such properties in Richmond.
Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Richmond with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?
- Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Richmond can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers’ lawyers. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Richmond state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. If you dont have the consents to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand. You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale. If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
Richmond Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before buying
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How many years remain on the lease? The answer will be useful as a) areas could result in problems for the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the managing agents you will wish to have all the details For many Richmond leaseholds the cost for major works are not included within service charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Richmond require leaseholders to contribute towards a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance.