I am progressing with the sale of my flat in Tooting Bec and the EA has just telephoned to advise that the purchasers are switching law firm. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named mortgage company only work with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Tooting Bec ?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for many years.
Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
We are selling our apartment in Tooting Bec. Will my conveyancer have to be on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel in order to deal with repayment of my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently in recent years.
What is the difference between a licensed conveyancer and conveyancing solicitor in Tooting Bec
There are many registered licenced Conveyancers in Tooting Bec and Solicitor practices in Tooting Bec who provide Conveyancing services It is important to make clear that the two are supervised by regulatory bodies with both specialising in the legal work in transferring property. The two can conduct associated property related work such as remortgage conveyancing, lease extensions and transfer of equity conveyancing.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as TSB, do Tooting Bec conveyancers have to pay a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are unaware of any lender fees to register on their panel, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in Tooting Bec. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £150. A couple of days later, the property lawyer contacted me to say 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.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in Tooting Bec?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Tooting Bec. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in Tooting Bec I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 51 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Tooting Bec 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 will likely be an issue. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you could request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
I am intending to rent out my leasehold flat in Tooting Bec. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?
A small minority of properties in Tooting Bec do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.
My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in Tooting Bec. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the amount due.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Tooting Bec property is 14 Nutwell Street in January 2014. The premium payable for the acquisition of a new lease of the subject premises was in the sum of £30,523 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 62.94 years.