I am six weeks into the sale of my house in Southbourne and the EA has just called to advise that the purchasers are appointing a new solicitor. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading lender only work with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Southbourne ?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 25 years.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The buyers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
I am buying a new build flat in Southbourne and my conveyancer is informing me that she is duty bound to the mortgage company to disclose incentives from the seller. I am on a tight deadline to sign contracts and I don't want to prolong matters. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancing practitioner. A precondition to being on a lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
A colleague advised me that if I am buying in Southbourne I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is sometimes included in the estimate for your Southbourne conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Southbourne around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Southbourne Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Southbourne Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Southbourne.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one near me in Southbourne I like with amenity areas and transport links nearby, however it's only got 49 years on the lease. There is not much else in Southbourne suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?
If you require a mortgage that many years will likely be an issue. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you could request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.
I own a leasehold house in Southbourne. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Southbourne who previously acted has long since retired. Do I pay?
First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Southbourne conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
I am the registered owner of a ground floor flat in Southbourne, conveyancing formalities finalised 6 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Southbourne with over 90 years remaining are worth £227,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2098
You have 72 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 plus costs.
The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.
How much experience do your Southbourne conveyancing solicitors have with Help To Buy, Shared Equity and similar schemes?
Southbourne conveyancing lawyers help thousands of buyers move home every year and assisted lots of clients through the Help To Buy scheme. The chances are that whatever makes your case unique Southbourne conveyancers have worked on recent similar cases.