Is the fact that my solicitor in West Heath is not on my bank's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the quality of his work?
It would be unwise to jump to that conclusion. There are plenty of plausible explanations. Just recently a report by the solicitors regulator revealed 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The most common reasons for removal are: (1) lack of transactions (2) the solicitor is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. If you are concerned you should simply call the West Heath conveyancing firm and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your lender.
I am due to complete on the purchase of a property in West Heath but as a result of damage from a small fire at the property I have managed to agree reparation from the vendor in the sum of £2k in the form of a deduction in the price. This was going to be addressed as part of the conveyancing process but Santander will not agree to this. Why were they approached?
Your conveyancing practitioner being on a Santander conveyancing panel is obliged to disclose to Santander of any changes to the purchase price. If you prohibit your conveyancing practitioner to notify the price change to Santander then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Santander and you would have to appoint a new lawyer for your conveyancing in West Heath.
It is is a decade since I purchased my home in West Heath. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been instructed on the sale but I can't locate the deeds. Is this a major issue?
Don’t worry too much. First there is a possibility that the deeds will be with the mortgage company or they may be in the possession of the solicitor who oversaw your purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in West Heath involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is not registered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
My aunt passed away last year and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in West Heath. The house had a relatively small loan left on it of around £5k. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Nottingham, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
Where you intend to refinance then Nottingham will require that you use a conveyancer on the Nottingham conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Nottingham conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Nottingham mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in West Heath. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.
Here is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in West Heath
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Please supply a car parking plan. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Please supply evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided.
I wish to sublet my leasehold apartment in West Heath. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?
Even though your previous West Heath conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek permission via your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.
I have had difficulty in negotiating a lease extension in West Heath. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a West Heath conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a West Heath flat is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case was in relation to 13 flats. The unexpired lease term was 76 years.