My partner and I are looking to buy a property in Tickton and have instructed a Tickton conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Santander have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Tickton solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Tickton lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Are you able to suggest a Norwich and Peterborough Building Society approved Tickton conveyancing practice finish our house move within a short deadline? Would it be better to use a local Tickton firm or an internet conveyancer?
We would be happy to suggest some excellent Tickton conveyancing firms. You can also walk up the high street in Tickton. Visit two or three firms and request to see a conveyancing solicitor for a costs illustration. Explain your deadline together with your reasons and ask for an assurance on your deadline. Choose the lawyer that genuine.
A friend recommended that where I am purchasing in Tickton I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is usually included in the estimate for your Tickton conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out important information about Tickton 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 type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Tickton Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Tickton.
Me and my brother purchased a terraced Victorian house in Tickton. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Yorkshire Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same address. Is it worth asking Yorkshire 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 owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Tickton and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the position with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the conveyancing.
Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Tickton from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?
- Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Tickton can be avoided where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers’ lawyers. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Tickton state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you dont have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first. The majority of landlords or Management Companies in Tickton levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold home. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Tickton. If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled. A minority of Tickton leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
Tickton Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before buying
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What is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the flat? Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge payments? How many years remain on the lease?
My solicitor in Tickton has informed me that he requires identification documents asserting that this is part of his legal duty as a solicitor on the mortgage company Solicitor panel. Can this be correct?
Due to Money Laundering Regulations your conveyancing lawyer is duty bound to confirm positively your identification when entering into a business relationship with you. It is a criminal offence if your lawyer not do this. If you do not provide ID early in the transaction the solicitor must refuse to act for you. It’s unlikely a lawyer will turn you away if you come to the first meeting without relevant ID but you will have to produce it at some point so you might as well bring it with you to the initial meeting so the lawyer can tick the ID verification box and start sorting out the conveyancing straight away. If you are getting a mortgage, your lawyer also has to check ID documents to satisfy the bank. This is not unique to conveyancing in Tickton