Are the BSA intent on creating a online directory to to identify firms on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel for example in Swiss Cottage?
We would not expect to be advised of any intention on the part of the BSA to promote such a search facility.
My wife and I have a terraced Georgian house in Swiss Cottage. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Skipton Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same address. Is it worth asking Skipton Building Society to clarify?
You need to 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 Swiss Cottage and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also check the situation with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and found one round the corner in Swiss Cottage I like with open areas and station nearby, the downside is that it only has 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Swiss Cottage suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you may ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.
My cousin has encouraged me to use his conveyancing solicitors in Swiss Cottage. Should I find my own conveyancer?
No doubt the best way to select a conveyancing practitioner is to have referrals from friends or family who have experience in using the conveyancer that you are contemplating using.
Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in Swiss Cottage. Conveyancing has not commenced, however I have just received a half-yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?
Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the service charge as you normally would as all ground rent and service payments will be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most management companies 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.
Following years of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Swiss Cottage. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the sum to be paid.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Swiss Cottage flat is First Floor Flat 20 Fitzjohns Avenue in July 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premiums to be paid for new leases in respect of the Raised Ground Floor Flat and the First Floor Flat were to be calculated as: Raised Ground Floor: £765,175.14 First Floor: £601,617.77 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 16.83 and 16.43.
Are the Swiss Cottage conveyancing lawyers identified as being on the bank conveyancing panel, together with their details provided by the mortgage company?
Swiss Cottage law firm practices and firms conducting conveyancing in Swiss Cottage themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the lender conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from the mortgage company directly.