My husband and I are buying a 3 bedroom flat in Washington with a mortgage. We have a Washington lawyer, but the lender says he's not on their "panel". It appears that we have no option but to instruct one of the bank panel firms or continue with our Washington conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. This feels very unfair; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Washington conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Would the conveyancing solicitors identified via your search tool execute auction conveyancing in Washington?
There are a number of auction solicitors we can connect you with those who can conduct auction conveyancing. Washington is one of the many locations where our lawyers have a presence.
Completed the sale of my flat in Washington last March but our buyer keeps calling daily to moan that his solicitor is waiting to hear from mine. What are the post completion sale formalities now that I have sold?
Following your sale your solicitor is obliged to forward the transfer documentation and all of the paperwork to the buyer’s solicitors. Depending on the transaction, your solicitor must also confirm that the home loan has been repaid to the buyers conveyancers. There is unlikely to be post completion requirements just for conveyancing in Washington.
How does conveyancing in Washington differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Washington contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is finished. This is because new home sellers in Washington tend to buy 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 property lawyers 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 Washington or who has acted in the same development.
I decided to have a survey completed on a house in Washington prior to retaining solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor has said that some banks will not grant a mortgage on a flying freehold property.
It varies from the lender to lender. Santander has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. If you call us we can look into this further with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Washington. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Washington to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
I work for a long established estate agent office in Washington where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Washington conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
I bought a 1st floor flat in Washington, conveyancing having been completed May 1996. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Washington with over 90 years remaining are worth £192,000. The ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2080
With only 54 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £32,300 and £37,400 plus legals.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.