I have just been advised by my lender that my Stratford the law firm I have appointed is not on the mortgage company Solicitor panel. What can I do to be sure that this is correct?
The first thing you need to do is to contact your Stratford lawyer directly. You lawyer should notify you what has happened. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the conveyancing panel for your mortgage company.
My husband and I are purchasing a newly constructed apartment in Stratford and my solicitor is informing me that she has to the lender to reveal incentives from the developer. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange and I would rather not delay matters. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your lawyer. A precondition to being on a lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
How does conveyancing in Stratford differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Stratford contact us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is completed. This is because builders in Stratford usually 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 conveyancers 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 used to new build conveyancing in Stratford or who has acted in the same development.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and identified one close by in Stratford I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Stratford suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this.
I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Stratford. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?
The majority of houses in Stratford are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Stratford so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Stratford conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor will report to you on the legal implications.
Following years of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Stratford. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Stratford conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Stratford property is 12 Nutfield Road in July 2014. the Tribunal judged that the price to be paid by the applicants for the freehold interest should be £19,572 This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 72.02 years.
Why can I not complete our conveyancing in Stratford on May bank holiday?
Because on completion the purchase price needs to pass between the banks of the buyer and seller's solicitor and currently this can only occur on a working day. It is not possible to complete on a weekend either.