When it comes to lenders such as Nottingham, do Street solicitors have to pay a yearly amount to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any lender fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Street off the council. I have a mortgage offer with Yorkshire BS. 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 Yorkshire BS, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel.
After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Street. My financial adviser suggested a property lawyer. I paid an upfront payment of £200. A few days later, the lawyer called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Yorkshire BS 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 Yorkshire BS 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.
My colleague suggested that if I am buying in Street I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is usually quoted for as part of the standard Street conveyancing searches. It is a large report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Street around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Street.
It has been 4 months since my purchase conveyancing in Street took place. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £160,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the property from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Street. Conveyancing is necessary evil 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.
Here are examples of a few leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Street
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Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. Please confirm the Lease plans are architect prepared. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? Please supply evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £245,000 and found one close by in Street I like with amenity areas and station nearby, however it's only got 51 years on the lease. There is not much else in Street in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?
If you require a home loan that many years will be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.
All being well we will complete the disposal of our £225,000 apartment in Street next week. The landlords agents has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Street?
For the majority of leasehold sales in Street conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :
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Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
Where consent is required before sale in Street
Supplying insurance information
Deeds of covenant upon sale
Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
Leasehold Conveyancing in Street - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing
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If a Street lease has less than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the value of the flat. Check with your bank that they are content with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely require a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of what this will be. For most Streetlease extensions you will need to own the premises for two years in order to be legally able to carry out a lease extension. Is the freehold reversion owned jointly by the tenants? It is important to be aware if redecorating or some other significant cost is anticipated that will be shared amongst the tenants and may well dramatically impact the level of the service costs or result in a specific payment.