My apartment in St James's is up for sale and I have a buyer. Will the property lawyer have to be on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their panel criteria fairly frequently in recent years.
Is it the case that all St James's CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing list of approved practices?
Some major banks and building societies now utilise CQS as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to remain on their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
My fiancee and I are in the process of looking at flats in St James's and I am about to put in an offer. Is it too early to have a solicitor in place? I will be getting a home loan with HSBC.
You should start obtaining conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the estate agent. As you are getting a mortgage with HSBC, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the HSBC conveyancing panel.
About to purchase house in St James's. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the St James's solicitor is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel.
I used Wolstenholmes several years past for my conveyancing in St James's. Now, I need my files 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 James's of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
What does commercial conveyancing in St James's cover?
Commercial conveyancing in St James's covers a broad range of guidance, provided by qualified solicitors, relating to business property. By way of example, this type of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more usually, the assignment of existing leases or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial mortgages and the termination of tenancies.
Last May I purchased a leasehold flat in St James's. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a St James's conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?
Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the price.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a St James's residence is 20 Avonwick Road in July 2013. The Tribunal was dealing with an application under Section 26 of the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 for a determination of the freehold value of the property. It was concluded that the price to be paid was Fifteen Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy (£15,970) divided as to £8,200 for Flat 20 and £7,770 for Flat 20A This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 73.26 years.
My conveyancers in St James's have advised me that no longer have my conveyancing file. To assist with my purchase I took out a mortgage with the mortgage company. Is it case that being on the mortgage company conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a number of years?
Different lenders have different requirements but many of the Terms and Conditions of Conveyancing Panel Appointment require the file to be held for a period of 6 years. That being said we have not seen a copy of the mortgage company Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting the lender directly.