My wife and I are planning to purchase a house in St John's Wood and are in fact using a St John's Wood conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. National Westminster Bank have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our St John's Wood lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the purchaser's lender. 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 Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred St John's Wood lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
I have todaybecome aware that Wolstenholmes have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in St John's Wood for a purchase of a freehold house 9 months ago. How can I establish that my home is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?
The easiest method to see if the property is in your name, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of St John's Wood conveyancing specialists.
How does conveyancing in St John's Wood differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in St John's Wood approach us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is constructed. This is because house builders in St John's Wood tend to acquire the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in St John's Wood or who has acted in the same development.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in St John's Wood I like with a park and station nearby, however it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in St John's Wood in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?
If you need a home loan that many years will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign 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 about this matter.
What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a St John's Wood conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a St John's Wood conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non St John's Wood conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions might be of use:
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How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation? What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?
I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can a leaseholder make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a St John's Wood conveyancing firm to help?
if there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the price payable.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a St John's Wood property is Garden Flat 195 Goldhurst Terrace in May 2012. The Tribunal held in accordance with section 48 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease should be £60,855.00. This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 60.16 years.
Been on the hunt for a conveyancer for freehold sale conveyancing in St John's Wood. I'm selling, uncomplicated no mortgage to redeem, no hurry, currently vacant. Got a quote from a solicitor for £1000 plus VAT which is a little steep considering its so straightforward. Is it possible to find less expensive fees for conveyancing in St John's Wood?
Considering it’s a sale only, £500 + VAT is likely to be about the lowest for a St John's Wood solicitor firm.