Me and my partner are buying a 2 bedroom flat in Whitton with a mortgage. We like our Whitton lawyer, however the lender says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel firms or retain our Whitton property lawyer and pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer 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 Whitton conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
At what point can the exchange of contracts occur in domestic conveyancing in Whitton and do I need to attend the lawyers office?
Where you are local to one of the conveyancing solicitors in Whitton you are invited in to sign the paperwork. However, the firms we recommend offer countrywide coverage for conveyancing and give just as comprehensive and professional a job for you when dealing with you by post or email. The signing of the sale agreement is not the point of no return. A signed contract is just a prerequisite for the solicitor to exchange contracts at the appropriate time, which will usually be very shortly after signing. The exchange process is is usually a five minute process, although where an extended "chain" is involved, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Whitton)to be in the office at the appropriate time.
Me and my partner are purchasing a apartment in Whitton. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a lawyer? On completion day we have to deposit funds into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our money?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
I am helping my mother sell her flat in Whitton. Will the conveyancer arrange an energy assessment or do I organise this?
After the demise of HIPs, energy performance certificates remained a required part of selling a property. An energy assessment should be commissioned before the property is placed on the market. It is not a task that conveyancers normally arrange. Where you are using a Whitton conveyancing lawyer they might help arrange energy assessments due to their contacts with reputable local providers
I have instructed a Whitton conveyancing practitioner having made sure that they are on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Kent Reliance will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Kent Reliance will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your solicitor will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Whitton postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Kent Reliance, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Whitton.
2 months have gone by since my purchase conveyancing in Whitton took place. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and found one near me in Whitton I like with a park and transport links nearby, the downside is that it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Whitton for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?
Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term may be an issue. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.
Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Whitton from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Whitton can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers’ conveyancers. Some Whitton leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 buyers or their solicitors. If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Whitton conveyancing deal. Where a reissued share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later. If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may need to swallow your pride 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled. The majority of landlords or Management Companies in Whitton charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Whitton.
I own a garden flat in Whitton. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium payable for a lease extension?
in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the LVT to judgment on the premium.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Whitton residence is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 60.45 years.