My conveyancer has discovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the apartment we are buying in St Helier. The other side have offered title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our solicitor says that he must check that the mortgage company is happy with this solution. Are we the client or is the lender?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the risk of a conflict of interest, you and the bank are the client. Your lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the mortgage company 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.
Can I use your services to find a Conveyancing solicitor in St Helier even where I’m not buying or selling a house, for example if I wish to buy an office in St Helier with a loan from Aldermore?
Our search tool is primarily utilised to help choose domestic conveyancing solicitors in St Helier but we have listed towards the bottom of this page some St Helier commercial conveyancing firms. You will need to speak with the company directly to establish if they are also authorised to represent Aldermore
Are the BSA intent on creating a search tool with a view to list practices on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel for example in St Helier?
We would not expect to be advised of any plans on the part of the BSA to develop such a search facility.
I am looking for a flat up to £305k and found one near me in St Helier I like with a park and station nearby, however it's only got 52 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in St Helier in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
If you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term may be an issue. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.
My step-father has encouraged me to use his lawyers for conveyancing in St Helier. Should I use them?
No doubt it’s preferable to choose a conveyancing lawyer is to have recommendations from friends or family who have actually previously instructed the solicitor you're contemplating using.
I happen to be an executor of my recently deceased parent's Will, with a bungalow in St Helier which will be marketed. The property is unregistered at HMLR and I'm advised that many EAs will insist that it is completed before they will proceed. What's the procedure for this?
In the circumstances you refer to it seems prudent to apply to register in the names of the personal representative(s) as named in the probate and in their capacity as PRs. The Land Registry’s online guidance explains how to register for the first time and what is required re the deeds and forms. You would need to include and official copy of the probate as well and complete the form FR1 to refer to the PRs as the applicant.