My partner and I are acquiring a brand new apartment in Wapping and my solicitor is advising me that she is duty bound to the bank to reveal incentives from the developer. I am under pressure to exchange and I don't want to delay the conveyancing. Is my lawyer right?
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 conditions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
A relative recommended that if I am buying in Wapping I should ask my conveyancer to perform a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is sometimes included in the estimate for your Wapping conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out important information about Wapping 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 demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information regarding Wapping.
Just had an offer accepted on a new build flat in Wapping. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.
Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Wapping
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Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company?
What does commercial conveyancing in Wapping cover?
Wapping conveyancing for business premises covers a broad range of services, supplied by qualified solicitors, relating to business property. By way of example, this area of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more usually, the assignment of existing business tenancies or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial loans and the termination of leases.
Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Wapping with the intention of speeding up the sale process?
- Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Wapping can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors. Some Wapping leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual 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 purchasers or their solicitors. If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved. If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Wapping state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor in advance.
I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Wapping conveyancing firm to represent me?
if there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to judgment on the price payable.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Wapping property 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 related to 41 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 107 years.
I'm purchasing a bungalow in Wapping. I have found my conveyancer's company on the Law Society's list, but I can't locate my conveyancer's name as listed on the regulator's website. Is this a big problem?
Not all staff in the practice must be listed by the regulator. Provided there is someone qualified to 'oversee' the work, the actual day-to-day activity can be undertaken by unlicensed staff.