It is a dozen years since I purchased my property in Strawberry Hill. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been appointed on the sale but I can't locate my deeds. Will this cause complications?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly the deeds may be kept by the mortgage company or they may be in the possession of the conveyancers who handled your purchase. Secondly in all probability the title will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Strawberry Hill relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your property is not registered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
We're in Strawberry Hill, First timers purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Coventry BS , and our solicitor is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no solicitor 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.
Is it the case that all Strawberry Hill CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Principality conveyancing list of approved firms?
It is true that some banks and building societies now make use of CQS as the kick off point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to remain on their approved list of firms.
My husband and I have organised a further advance on our home loan from Skipton as we intend to conduct renovations to our house in Strawberry Hill. Are we obliged to choose a bricks and mortar Strawberry Hill solicitor on the Skipton conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
Skipton don't usually appoint a member of their approved list of lawyers to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Skipton conveyancing panel.
After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Strawberry Hill. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their conveyancing practitioner. I paid an upfront payment of £200. Shortly after, the conveyancer called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Aldermore 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 Aldermore 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.
I am buying my first flat in Strawberry Hill with a mortgage from Yorkshire Building Society. The builders would not budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The property agent suggested that I not disclose to my lawyer about the extras as it will put at risk my loan with Yorkshire Building Society. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
My business partner and I are hoping to lease a unit on the high street. Can you recommend conveyancers offering fixed fees for non-domestic conveyancing in Strawberry Hill for under £1,200?
We are happy to recommend firms who have well rounded knowledge of commercial conveyancing in Strawberry Hill, including the disposal and purchase of businesses as well as simply premises. If you are hoping to acquire or dispose of a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail unit or a complete business we can find you the right lawyer. Regarding the charges this will depend on the structure and terms of the proposed transaction. Let us have your details or telephone us so that we can furnish you with a fixed commercial conveyancing quote.
I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed flat in Strawberry Hill. Conveyancing is yet to be initiated, however I have recently had a quarterly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?
It best that you discharge the service charge as normal as all rents and service payments should be allotted on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
Having spent months of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Strawberry Hill. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Strawberry Hill conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Strawberry Hill flat 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 term was 60.45 years.