My partner and I are hoping to purchase a property in Southgate and are in fact using a Southgate conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Chelsea Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Southgate conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Southgate lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
My wife and I are about to exchange buying a property in Southgate but as a result of wreckage from a small fire at the property I have managed to agree reparation from the owner in the sum of three thousand pounds taking the form of a deduction in the price. This was going to be dealt with as part of a side agreement but Kent Reliance will not permit this. Why were they involved?
Any conveyancer being on a Kent Reliance approved list is required to advise Kent Reliance of any changes to the purchase price. If you prohibit your conveyancing practitioner to report the reduction to Kent Reliance then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Kent Reliance and you would have to appoint a new conveyancer for your conveyancing in Southgate.
Have just purchased a repossessed house at auction in Southgate. Conveyancing is required. What are my next steps?
Now that you have legally bound yourself to purchase you should choose a conveyancing lawyer as a matter of urgency as you are facing a pending a drop dead date to complete the transaction. All auction property will have a corresponding legal pack. This will include most,if not all of the documents that your lawyer will need. If you have purchased leasehold premises the legal papers may include a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing paperwork relating to a leasehold property. You need to hand this to the solicitor instructed by you ASAP. You also need to ensure that you have funds in place to complete on the on the contractual date .
This question may be naive but I am new to the home buying as FTB of a ground floor flat in Southgate. Do I collect the keys to the premises on the completion date from my lawyer? If this is the case, I will instruct a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Southgate?
On the day of completion you will not be required to go to the conveyancers office in Southgate. Conveyancing lawyers for you will arrange to send the completion advance to the vendor’s solicitors, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be called to collect the keys from the selling Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen early afternoon.
Are all Southgate Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the RBS conveyancing panel?
Some major banks and building societies now use CQS as the kick off point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to join their approved list of firms.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Southgate I like with a park and transport links nearby, the downside is that it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Southgate suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
If you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be a potential deal breaker. 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 a minimum of 2 years you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.
Am I best advised to appoint a Southgate conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am purchasing? An old friend can carry out the legal work however they are based a couple of hundredmiles drive away.
The primary upside of using a local Southgate conveyancing firm is that you can visit the firm to execute documents, present your identification documents and apply pressure on them if necessary. They will also have local knowledge which is a benefit. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust used your friend and the majority were happy that must surpass using an unfamiliar Southgate conveyancing lawyer just because they are local.
I only have 68 years remaining on my flat in Southgate. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?
On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Southgate.
I own a basement flat in Southgate. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount payable for the purchase of the freehold?
Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Southgate conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Southgate property is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 70.31 years.