I am purchasing a newly built duplex in St Luke's and my lawyer is informing me that she is duty bound to the lender to reveal incentives from the builder. I am on a tight deadline to exchange and I have no desire to delay the conveyancing. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property lawyer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
My wife and I purchased a terraced Edwardian house in St Luke's. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and The Royal Bank of Scotland. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the matching property. Is it worth asking The Royal Bank of Scotland to clarify?
You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in St Luke's and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also enquire as to the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the conveyancing.
About to purchase a new build flat in St Luke's. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.
Set out below are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in St Luke's
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Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Please confirm the Lease plans are architect prepared. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. St Luke's is the location of the property. What do you suggest?
Flying freeholds in St Luke's are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside St Luke's you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in St Luke's may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
Last January I purchased a leasehold house in St Luke's. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?
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. A critical element 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 tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a St Luke's conveyancing firm to assist?
You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a St Luke's conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a St Luke's residence is 137 & 139 Haberdasher Street in December 2013. The Tribunal determines 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 for each Property should be £12,350.00. This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired term was 72.39 years.
Is there a reason that St Luke's conveyancing charges are higher for leasehold and freehold properties?
Leasehold conveyancing in St Luke's can involve additional work for instance reviewing the lease, liaising with the freeholder, obtaining up to date rent receipts, landlord’s consents, management company’s accounts etc.