My husband and I are hoping to purchase a flat in Ruislip and are in fact using a Ruislip conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. National Westminster Bank have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Ruislip conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
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 mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Ruislip solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
The Ruislip conveyancing firm handling our Ruislip conveyancing has spotted a difference between the information in the valuation report and what is in the legal papers for the property. My lawyer has advised that he is obliged to ensure that the lender is OK with this discrepancy and is content to go ahead. Is my solicitor’s approach right?
Your solicitor must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. 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.
I have been told that property searches are the number one cause of obstruction in Ruislip house deals. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the conclusions of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the common causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Searches are not likely to feature in any holding up conveyancing in Ruislip.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and identified one round the corner in Ruislip I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it only has 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Ruislip suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
If you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term may be problematic. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.
My husband and I are new on the property ladder - agreed a price, yet the agent informed us that the vendor will only proceed if we use their recommended solicitors as they need a ‘quick sale’. Our preferred option is to instruct a high street conveyancer who is familiar with conveyancing in Ruislip
It is improbable the vendors are behind this. Should the vendor desire ‘a quick sale', alienating a genuine purchaser is counter productive. Contact the sellers directly and make the point that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to go, with finances arranged © you are chain free (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you are going to use your preferred Ruislip conveyancing solicitors - not the ones that will earn the estate agent a introducer fee or hit his conveyancing thresholds pre-set by senior management.
My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Ruislip. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Ruislip who previously acted has long since retired. Do I pay?
The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Ruislip conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
Despite our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Ruislip. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Ruislip conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Ruislip flat is Flat 72 Queens Walk in January 2013. The Tribunals calculated the premium payable to be £22,090. This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 53.26 years.