I am progressing with the sale of my apartment in West Drayton and the estate agent has just telephoned to say that the buyers are changing their property lawyer. The excuse is that the lender will only deal with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a leading lender only work with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in West Drayton ?
Banks have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in the last few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.
Mortgage companies justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that 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 impact on this.
Can you explain why leasehold purchase conveyancing in West Drayton costs more?
In summary, leasehold conveyancing in West Drayton and West London usually necessitates more hours of investigation compared to freehold transactions. This includes lease investigation, communicating with the landlord concerning serving applicable notices, procuring current service charge and management information, obtaining the freeholder’s consents and reviewing management accounts. The obligations on both the landlord and the tenant in the lease need to be studied by the buyer’s conveyancing team and read from beginning to end – no matter how many different proprietor have owned the lease since it was first entered into.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our house can not be found. The solicitors who conducted the conveyancing in West Drayton 10 years ago are no longer around. What do I do?
Assuming the title is registered the details of your proprietorship will be recorded by HMLR with a Title Number. It is possible to execute a search at the Land Registry, find your house and secure up to date copies of the Registered Entries for a small fee. Where the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually retain a certified copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for twenty pounds.
I am looking for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in West Drayton I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, however it's only got 61 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in West Drayton in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
If you need a home loan the shortness of the lease may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the expected 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 then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.
I was advised by numerous property agents in West Drayton to locate a conveyancer using your seach tool. What’s the financial upside for Estate Agents to offer your site over and above a competitor’s?
We don’t offer any referral fee for pointing buyers and sellers our way. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission because a client could think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
We expect to complete the sale of our £400,000 garden flat in West Drayton next Monday. The management company has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in West Drayton?
West Drayton conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally necessitates the buyer’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They are entitled to charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.
I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in West Drayton. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to assess the price payable.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a West Drayton residence is 164 Nestles Avenue in October 2013. The tribunal agreed with the proposed price of £20,158 for the freehold and determined that that sum is the amount to be paid into court This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 69 years.