My partner and I are buying a newly constructed flat in Thamesmead and my lawyer is advising me that she has to the mortgage company to disclose incentives from the builder. I am under pressure to exchange contracts and I would rather not prolong the conveyancing. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property 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.
I am helping my niece sell her flat in Thamesmead. Does the solicitor commission an EPC or it is for me to coordinate?
Following the demise of HIPs, energy performance certificates remained a required element of selling a house. An energy assessment must be commissioned in advance of the property being advertised. This is not a task that lawyers ordinarily arrange. Where you are instructing a Thamesmead conveyancing practitioner they might help arrange energy assessments due to their contacts with reputable Thamesmead energy assessors
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Clydesdale, do Thamesmead property lawyers have to pay an annual charge to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are not aware of any lender fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
I am purchasing a property in Thamesmead. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender Aldermore be concerned?
Given that your lender is Aldermore your lawyer must comply with the conveyancing requirements set out in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Aldermore. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook contains minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancers are required to report to Aldermore where a lease fails to meet these conditions. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not isolated to Thamesmead.
Should our lawyer be making enquiries concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Thamesmead.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers specialising in conveyancing in Thamesmead. There are those who purchase a property in Thamesmead, completely aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, suitable insurance cover, or dispose of the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Lawyers are not best placed to impart advice on flood risk, but there are a number of checks that can be undertaken by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which can give them a better appreciation of the risks in Thamesmead. The standard information supplied to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a standard inquiry of the owner to discover if the property has ever been flooded. If the premises has been flooded in past and is not disclosed by the seller, then a buyer could commence a compensation claim as a result of such an incorrect answer. The buyer’s conveyancers will also carry out an environmental search. This will higlight if there is any known flood risk. If so, additional inquiries will need to be conducted.
I used Arc property Solicitors a few years past for my conveyancing in Thamesmead. I now require my file however the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Thamesmead of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
How does the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 affect my business offices in Thamesmead and how can your lawyers assist?
The particular law that you refer to provides protection to business leaseholders, granting the right to apply to court for a new tenancy and remain in occupation at the end of the lease term. There are certain specified grounds that a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are complex. We are happy to direct you to commercial conveyancing solicitors who use the act to your advantage and assist with commercial conveyancing in Thamesmead
I own a leasehold flat in Thamesmead. Conveyancing was finalised in 21012. I have read on numerous consumer forums that I mustn’t allow the lease length fall too low. What is the reasoning?
Thamesmead leasehold properties are for a fixed period - usually 99 years when they are first granted. However a significant flats in Thamesmead were constructed or converted in the 60’s and so these leases now have fewer than eighty years left to run. That may sound like plenty of time however Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage lenders generally require leases to have a minimum of 75 years remaining to adequate security. Accordingly when you come to sell the property you will need to extend the term of your lease if you are nearing eighty years. To optimize your property value you should be considering whether to extend your lease well in advance of selling the property. Furthermore strong financial reasons to doing so before the lease reaches even eighty years as when the lease is less than 80 years the amount you have to pay to extend starts to escalate.