I have just been advised by my mortgage adviser that my St Columb property lawyer is not on the mortgage company Conveyancing panel. What can I do to be sure that this is correct?
The sensible course of action for you to take is to call your St Columb lawyer directly. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to notify you of the situation. Where they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the conveyancing panel for your lender.
I am approaching an exchange on a property in St Columb and my parents have sent the exchange deposit to my property lawyer. I am now told that as the deposit has not come from me my conveyancing practitioner needs to disclose this to my lender. Apparently, in also acting for the mortgage company he must inform them that the balance of the purchase price is coming from anyone other than me. I advised the bank about my parents' contribution when I applied for the home loan, so is it really appropriate for him to raise this?
The property lawyer is obliged to clarify with the bank to make sure that they know that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. Your solicitor can only notify this to your bank if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
My property lawyer in St Columb is not on the Birmingham Midshires Approved Panel. Can I still continue with my family solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the Birmingham Midshires list of approved lawyers?
Your options are as follows:
- Carry on with your existing St Columb solicitors but Birmingham Midshires will need to instruct a solicitor on their list of acceptable firms. This will inevitably rack up the total legal charges as well as result in frustration.
- Choose an alternative solicitor to act in the purchase, remembering to check they are on the Birmingham Midshires panel
I used Action Conveyancing several years past for my conveyancing in St Columb. I now require my file however cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in St Columb of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
My husband and I are FTB’s - had an offer accepted, yet the agent informed us that the vendor will only proceed if we appoint the agent's preferred conveyancers as they need an ‘expedited deal’. My instinct tells me that we should use a local conveyancer with experience of conveyancing in St Columb
It is highly unlikely the owners are driving this. If they want ‘a quick sale', turning down a genuine purchaser is likely to cause more damage than good. Contact the sellers directly and explain that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to go, with finances in place © you are chain free (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you intend to appoint your own,trusted St Columb conveyancing solicitors - not the ones that will provide the negotiator at the agency a introducer fee or meet his conveyancing targets pre-set by senior management.
I am looking at a couple of flats in St Columb which have about fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?
There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in St Columb is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. For most purchasers and banks, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. 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 St Columb conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed 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 St Columb - Examples of Queries Prior to buying
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Does the lease include onerous restrictions? Many St Columb leasehold flats will have a service bill for the upkeep of the building levied by the landlord. If you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this charge, normally quarterly throughout the year. This can be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a significant amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to check it because occasionally it could be prohibitively expensive.