Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my conveyancer in St Pancras is not identified on my lender's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the standard of her conveyancing?
That would more than likely be a wrong assumption to make. There are plenty of reasonable explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The most common reasons for removal are: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the solicitor is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. If you are concerned you should simply call the St Pancras conveyancing firm and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your lender.
AssumingI were to purchase a simple residential propertyin St Pancras mortgage fee and dispense with a survey and no conveyancing searches how much could I expect to have to pay for conveyancing in St Pancras?
Any savings you would gain would be limited to the disbursement for searches. Your lawyer is obliged to do the vast majority of work - money laundering, communicating with the sellers property lawyer, stamp duty submission, register the property etc. A marginal saving might be made by not needing to register a charge but it will not be a lot.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in St Pancras. I have a mortgage agreed with Skipton. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Skipton, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Skipton conveyancing panel.
It is unclear whether my bank requires a lease extension. I have called my St Pancras bank branch on a couple of occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they would lend. My St Pancras conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- called and was told they refuse to lend based on their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. I simply don't know who is right.
The conveyancer must follow the CML Handbook Part 2 conditions for your lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in St Pancras. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an upfront payment of £200. Shortly after, the conveyancing practitioner called me to say that they were not on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Kent Reliance panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in St Pancras. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.
Here are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in St Pancras
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Please supply a car parking plan. Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Please confirm the Lease plans are architect prepared.
I need to retain a conveyancing solicitor for some conveyancing in St Pancras. I've stumble across a site which appears to be the ideal answer If there is a chance to get all the legals done via email that would be ideal. Do I need to be wary? What should out be looking out for?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
Back In 2002, I bought a leasehold flat in St Pancras. Conveyancing and Britannia mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in St Pancras who previously acted has long since retired. Any advice?
First contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a St Pancras conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
I am the leaseholder of a two-bedroom flat in St Pancras. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium payable for a lease extension?
if there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to arrive at the sum to be paid.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a St Pancras residence is Flat 89 Trinity Court Grays Inn Road in February 2013. the Tribunal found that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 should be £36,229. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 66.8 years.