Much to our surprise we have been informed by our lender that my Southbourne property lawyer is not on the mortgage company Solicitor panel. How can I be sure if this is correct?
Your first step should be to call your Southbourne lawyer directly. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to notify you of the situation. Where they are not on the panel they may recommend you to a Southbourne conveyancing practice that is on the conveyancing panel for your bank.
Please explain the implications if my solicitor is expelled from the Virgin Money Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Southbourne?
The first thing to point out is that, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Nottingham. I assume I don't need a Southbourne conveyancer on the Nottingham panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Nottingham mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Nottingham mortgage from the register. Nottingham, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Nottingham has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Nottingham has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Southbourne off the council. I have a mortgage offer with RBS. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with RBS, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the RBS conveyancing panel.
I can not fathom if my mortgage offer obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have telephoned my Southbourne bank branch on a couple of occasions and was informed it wasn't an issue and they would lend. My Southbourne conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they would not lend based on their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. I have no idea who is right.
As long as the solicitor is on the bank approved list, they must follow the CML Handbook specifications for the bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
We are buying a property and the lawyer has mentioned Chancel Repair to which the house could be obligated to contribute to as it falls into the area of such a church. She has mentioned insurance. Is this really warranted for conveyancing in Southbourne
Unless a prior purchase of the premises took place after 12 October 2013 you could expect conveyancing practitioners delivering conveyancing in Southbourne to continue to advocate a chancel search and or chancel repair liability policy.
I decided to have a survey completed on a property in Southbourne before appointing conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. My surveyor has said that some lenders will refuse to grant a loan on a flying freehold premises.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different instructions from Nationwide. Should you wish to call us we can check via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Southbourne. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Southbourne especially if they are accustomed to such properties in Southbourne.
Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Southbourne. Before diving in I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.
If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Southbourne - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
I acquired a basement flat in Southbourne, conveyancing formalities finalised in 1996. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Southbourne with an extended lease are worth £185,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease expires on 21st October 2085
With only 60 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £20,000 and £23,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.