Our lawyer has uncovered a defect with the lease for the property we are buying in Walton. The seller’s lawyers have put forward defective title insurance as a solution. We are happy with insurance and will pay for it. Our lawyer says that he must be satisfied that the mortgage company is willing to move forward with this solution. Are we the client or is the lender?
Regardless of the fact that you have a mortgage offer from the lender does not mean to say that the property will meet their requirements for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. You and the mortgage company are the client. These conveyancing instructions have to be complied with.
I am aiming to move property in January. Does my conveyancing solicitor liaise with the removal company on the day of completion. On a separate note, can you suggest a removal company in Walton. Conveyancing solicitor was organised before I stumbled across your site.
On the afternoon of completion you will need to collect the house keys from the property agent however this should only happen when the vendors lawyers inform the agent that they have the completion monies and the keys can be passed over. Subsequently you can inform the removal men that you are ready to move in. As a matter of policy we do not recommend a specific removal organisation but can assist you in locating a residential property solicitor in Walton or a firm with expertise in conveyancing in Walton.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Walton off the council. I have a mortgage offer with UBS. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with UBS, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the UBS conveyancing panel.
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Walton. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their solicitor. I paid an upfront payment of £200. A couple of days later, the property lawyer called me to say that they were not on the Kent Reliance 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 Kent Reliance 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.
It has been 4 months following my purchase conveyancing in Walton completed. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £170,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the property from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
How does conveyancing in Walton differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Walton approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is completed. This is because builders in Walton typically acquire the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Walton or who has acted in the same development.
Following years of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Walton. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Walton conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Walton property is 147 Redford Close in June 2012. The Tribunal determined the lease extension premium to be at £4,200 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 82.93 years.
Are there frequently found defects that you witness in leases for Walton properties?
There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Walton. All leases are drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:
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Insurance obligations A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Barnsley Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.
Is it the case that all Walton law firms on every lender conveyancing panel?
You can use our search tool or you can go into your high street lender branch in Walton. Chances are that they will be in a position to list some approved conveyancing solicitors in Walton