I am selling my flat in Weybridge and the EA has just called to say that the buyers are swapping law firm. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only work with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a major mortgage company only work with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Weybridge ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.
Banks point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise 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 sway in the decision.
Do the conveyancing solicitors listed on your site carry out right to buy conveyancing in Weybridge?
We work with plenty of conveyancing firms carrying out right to buy conveyancing work You should e-mail the solicitors listed to obtain a costs calculation.
My relative advised me that where I am purchasing in Weybridge I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is sometimes included in the estimate for your Weybridge conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about Weybridge around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Weybridge Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Weybridge.
I am looking for a flat up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in Weybridge I like with a park and station in the vicinity, however it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Weybridge suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?
Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be an issue. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you could ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
I need to retain a conveyancing solicitor for my conveyancing in Weybridge. I have chance upon a site which seems to have the perfect offering If it is possible to get all this stuff done via web that would be ideal. Should I be concerned? What are the potential pitfalls?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
I work for a busy estate agency in Weybridge where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Weybridge conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?
As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.
Alternatively, it may be possible 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 buyer.
I am the leaseholder of a second floor flat in Weybridge. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium payable for the purchase of the freehold?
in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to calculate the price payable.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Weybridge residence 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 lease term was 82.93 years.