Our lawyer has identified a a legal deficiency with the lease for the property we are purchasing in Seven Kings. The seller’s lawyers have offered defective title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our solicitor says that he must ensure that the bank is content with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the bank?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the lender are the client. Your lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. 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 conveyancing practitioner will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
Why is leasehold purchase conveyancing in Seven Kings is more expensive?
Seven Kings leasehold properties involve far more paperwork than a freehold purchase, and therefore takes more time to examine and advise upon.Conveyancing will involve the lease having to be checked which is usually a lengthy document, queries raised to ensure that the covenants and conditions have been observed. If it is a flat there will be a management company in existence and the accounts of this will need to be checked and enquiries raised to ensure it is operating efficiently and that all monies due have been paid by the Seller to the company and if not ensuring that money is paid up to date or the appropriate undertakings obtained.
We're in Seven Kings, First time buyers buying with a mortgage (lender is Barclays , and our lawyer is on the Barclays conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Barclays conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancing practitioner 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.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unexperienced as a 1st time buyer of a ground floor flat in Seven Kings. Do I receive the keys to the house on completion from my solicitor? If so, I will instruct a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Seven Kings?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Conveyancing lawyers for you will transfer the purchase money to the vendor’s conveyancers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be invited to receive the keys from the selling Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this happens early afternoon.
I am purchasing a terrace house in Seven Kings. Our aim is to an extension at the rear at the property.Will the conveyancing process include investigations to see if these alterations are allowed?
Your conveyancer will check the deeds as conveyancing in Seven Kings can sometimes reveal restrictions in the title documents which prevent certain alterations or necessitated the permission of a 3rd party. Some additions call for local authority planning consent and approval in accordance building regulations. Certain areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which frequently prevent or affect extensions. You should check these things with a surveyor before you commit yourself to a purchase.
Having read lots of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Seven Kings solicitor - who is on the UBS conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
UBS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually UBS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Seven Kings surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £245,000 and identified one close by in Seven Kings I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, however it's only got 52 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Seven Kings suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?
If you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will be an issue. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you can request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.
My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Seven Kings. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Seven Kings who previously acted has long since retired. Do I pay?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Seven Kings conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can I make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Seven Kings conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?
if there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the amount due.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Seven Kings flat is 49 Aldborough Road South in July 2012. The Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of the new lease was £13,925 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 61.36 years.