My partner and I are looking to purchase a flat in Selston and have instructed a Selston conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Platform Home Loans Ltd have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Selston solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for 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 Quality Scheme. Your solicitor 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Selston lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
The vendors of the house we are looking to purchase hired a conveyancing practitioner in Selston who has recommended a lock out agreement with a down payment 6,000. Are such agreements the norm for Selston conveyancing transactions?
This form of contract isn't common in Selston, conveyancers are often inclined to direct clients away from them as they divert attention from the main conveyancing focus and if you end up losing your deposit then the solicitor is left exposed. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that just because the proprietor has signed a lock out contract they will complete the sale with you. They may be in contravention of the agreement if they receive sufficient incentive to do so because an aggrieved claimant with the benefit of a lockout agreement will still be obliged show losses as a consequence of the breach and this may not compare to the financial benefit that your vendor may obtain by reneging on the agreement, no matter how morally condemnable it undoubtedly is.
Is there a reason why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Selston costs more?
In short, leasehold conveyancing in Selston and elsewhere usually necessitates additional work compared to freehold conveyancing. This includes reviewing the lease, corresponding with the landlord concerning serving applicable notices, procuring up-to-date service charge and management information, obtaining the landlord’s consents and reviewing management accounts. The obligations on both the landlord and the tenant in the lease need to be studied by the buyer’s conveyancing team and read from beginning to end – no matter how many different owners have owned the lease since it was first entered into.
I just bought a house at auction in Selston. Conveyancing is needed. What are my next steps?
Having exchanged you will need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor as a matter of priority as you are faced with a tight deadline in which to complete the property. All auction property will ordinarily have an associated auction pack. This will likely include most,if not all of the documents that your solicitor requires. Where you are dealing with leasehold premises the legal papers should contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing documentation pertinent to leasehold premises. You need to hand this to the conveyancer instructed by you as soon as possible. You also need to ensure that you have funds in place to complete on the date specified in the contract.
is it true that all Selston solicitors on the UBS conveyancing panel are regulated by the SRA?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the UBS conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Many mortgage companies do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be overseen by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Santander. Selston conveyancing practitioners have been appointed. How long does it take for Santander to forward the offer to the conveyancing practitioner?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have Santander conducted the survey? Have you informed Santander as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Santander conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
I am looking for a conveyancing solicitor in Selston for my sale. Can I review a firm’s record with the profession’s regulator?
You can review documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions arising from investigations from 2008 onwards. Go to Check a solicitor's record. To find records Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors history, call 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For non-uk callers, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA may recorded telephone calls for training purposes.
I am looking at a couple of apartments in Selston which have in the region of 50 years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?
There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Selston is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Selston conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.
Selston Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing
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In the main the cost for major works tend not to be built into the service charges, although a few managing agents in Selston ask leaseholders to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for major works. Be sure to enquire if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For example it is fairly common in Selston leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in Selston. If you like the apartmentin Selston but your cat can’t make the move with you then you have a very difficult determination. How long is the Lease?