My fiance and I are hoping to buy a home in Tower Hill and are in fact using a Tower Hill conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Lloyds TSB Bank have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Tower Hill lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. 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 Quality 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 lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Tower Hill solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Is it necessary to take out insurance to cover chancel repairs when buying a residence in Tower Hill?
Unless a prior acquisition of the premises completed post 12 October 2013 you can assume that solicitors delivering conveyancing in Tower Hill to continue to propose a a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
I used Stirling Law a few years past for my conveyancing in Tower Hill. Now, I need my documents however the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing 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 Tower Hill of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £245,000 and found one close by in Tower Hill I like with a park and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Tower Hill in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?
If you require a home loan that many years will likely be an issue. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.
My partner has encouraged me to use his conveyancers in Tower Hill. Should I use them?
There are no two ways about it the ideal way to choose a conveyancing solicitor is to have guidance from friends or family who have actually previously instructed the conveyancer you're contemplating using.
I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Tower Hill. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed, however I have recently had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?
The sensible thing to do is discharge the maintenance contribution as you normally would as all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
I inherited a garden flat in Tower Hill. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum due for a lease extension?
in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to make a decision on the premium.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Tower Hill residence is 1-41 Royal Tower Lodge 40 Cartwright Street in April 2013. the tribunal adding the agreed value of capitalised ground rents and the reversion the price to be paid for the freehold was £1,187,000 This case affected 41 flats. The unexpired lease term was 107 years.