Some advice if I may. My St Margarets lawyer is advising me that she is duty bound toconduct St Margarets conveyancing searches asthe firm are on the Nat Westconveyancing panel. Is this really necessary?
You have limited options available to you. As you are obtaining a mortgage with a mortgage company your lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your solicitor would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook conditions . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out St Margarets conveyancing searches.
We're in St Margarets, First timers buying with a mortgage (lender is Skipton , and our lawyer is on the Skipton conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Skipton conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
Me and my brother own a renovated Victorian house in St Margarets. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Platform Home Loans Ltd. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the matching property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be 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 Margarets and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also question the position with the conveyancing solicitor who carried out the work.
How does conveyancing in St Margarets differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in St Margarets come to us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is finished. This is because new home sellers in St Margarets usually buy 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 property lawyers 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 Margarets or who has acted in the same development.
How do I use your search tool to select a conveyancing solicitor in St Margarets on the approved list for my mortgage?
Step one is to select a lender such as Nationwide Building Society, The Mortgage Works or Nottingham Building Society then type in your location for example St Margarets. Conveyancing practices in St Margarets and nationally will then be shown.
Jane (my partner) and I may need to let out our St Margarets basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a St Margarets conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?
Your lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in St Margarets do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.
My wife and I have hit a brick wall in seeking a lease extension in St Margarets. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the premium.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a St Margarets residence is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 60.45 years.