We are buying a 3 bedroom apartment in Woodford with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Woodford lawyer, however the bank says she’s not on their "panel". It appears that we have little option but to use one of the bank panel conveyancing practices or retain our Woodford solicitor and pay for one of their panel lawyers to represent them. This feels very unfair; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’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. Another option that might be available is for your Woodford conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My Woodford conveyancer has spotted a discrepancy between the assumptions in the valuation survey and what is revealed within the title deeds. My lawyer has advised that he must check that the bank is happy with this discrepancy and is still content to lend. Is my solicitor’s stance correct?
Your solicitor must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
I am buying a property and the lawyer has referenced Chancel Repair for which the house could be obligated to pay as it falls into the area of such a church. She has mentioned insurance. Is this strictly warranted for conveyancing in Woodford
Unless a prior acquisition of the premises completed post 12 October 2013 you can expect conveyancing practitioners delivering conveyancing in Woodford to remain recommending a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a quick, chain free conveyancing. Woodford is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Woodford are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Woodford you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Woodford may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Woodford from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Woodford can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a Woodford home move. Where a reissued share is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity. If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved. If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Woodford state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. If you dont have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
Having spent years of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Woodford. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the amount due.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Woodford flat is 201 & 201a St. Barnabas Road in October 2013. The Tribunal decided that the price to be paid by the Applicants for the freehold interest is £20,071. This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired term was 69.26 years.
There are a lot of properties in Woodford on unadopted lanes. We are purchasing such a house. What are the advantages and disadvantages of buying a property on a privately owned road?
Woodford conveyancing lawyers are used to transacting houseson unadopted roads. The lawyer will review the Land Registry data to identify any rights or responsibilities. It is possible that there is a residents association that proprietors make annual payments to maintain the road. Where one exists, the road should be maintained and appear better than publicly adopted.