My husband and I are planning to buy a home in Southend On Sea and have instructed a Southend On Sea conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Lloyds TSB Bank have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Southend On Sea conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is usual 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 Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Southend On Sea 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.
Our Southend On Sea conveyancer has identified a difference between the surveyor’s assumptions in the valuation report and what is in the legal papers for the property. My solicitor informs me that he must check that the bank is OK with this discrepancy and is still content to lend. Is my conveyancer’s approach legitimate?
Your conveyancing practitioner must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions 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 both parties.
I am buying a garden flat in Southend On Sea. Conveyancing solicitors are said to be ‘a necessary evil’ but can I do it myself?
Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Southend On Sea you will have to appoint a solicitor on your bank's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Southend On Sea.
We are buying a house and the lawyer has mentioned Chancel Repair for which the property could be liable as it falls into the area of such a church. He has mentioned insurance. Is this really necessary for conveyancing in Southend On Sea
Unless a prior acquisition of the premises took place post 12 October 2013 you can expect lawyers carrying out conveyancing in Southend On Sea to continue to recommend a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one close by in Southend On Sea I like with open areas and railway links nearby, however it's only got 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Southend On Sea suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a home loan that many years will likely be an issue. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least 2 years you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.
I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Southend On Sea which have in the region of fifty years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Southend On Sea is a deteriorating 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 purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more positive 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 premises 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 Southend On Sea conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new 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.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Southend On Sea - Examples of Queries Prior to buying
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You should want to discover as much as you can regarding the company managing the block as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical issues like the upkeep of the communal areas. Enquire of prospective neighbours whether they are happy with their service. Finally, find out the dates that the maintenance fees are due to the appropriate party and precisely how they are spending that money. How is the lease structured? Is anyone aware of any major works in the planning that will add a premium to the service fees?