My conveyancer has uncovered a defect with the lease for the flat we are buying in St Anns. The seller’s lawyers have suggested title insurance as a solution. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our lawyer says that he must ensure that the lender is happy with this solution. Are we the client or is 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 property lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the bank 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 solicitor will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
Are the St Anns conveyancing solicitors identified as being on the Skipton conveyancing panel, together with their details provided by Skipton?
St Anns conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Skipton conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Skipton directly.
The St Anns conveyancing firm that just started acting on my house acquisition in St Anns have without warning closed. I chose them because I needed a solicitor on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel and my preferred St Anns lawyer was not. I sent them a cheque for two hundred pounds in advance. What should be my next steps?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors may be able to assist.
I purchased a terraced Edwardian house in St Anns. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Barclays . I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the matching address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in St Anns and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also check the position with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £235,500 and identified one close by in St Anns I like with open areas and station nearby, however it only has 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in St Anns for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you need a home loan that many years may be problematic. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you may ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.
My partner has suggested that I use his conveyancers in St Anns. Should I use them?
Much as we are happy to recommend a St Anns conveyancing lawyer it’s preferable to choose a conveyancing practitioner is to get feedback from friends or relatives who have actually experience in using the conveyancer you're are thinking of instructing.