My wife and I are hoping to purchase a property in Wootton Bridge and have instructed a Wootton Bridge conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. TSB have this morning contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Wootton Bridge conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Wootton Bridge lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
I require conveyancing for a flat in a fairly new development (6 years old) in Wootton Bridge. Almost all the properties have already been disposed of. Do I need carry out the local searches as part of conveyancing in Wootton Bridge?
If you are purchasing a property with the assistance of a loan, your bank will need some (many) of the searches so you'll have no choice. If not, then Wootton Bridge conveyancing searches are for you to decide upon. Your lawyer, will ’encourage’, perhaps strongly, that you should not go ahead without searches, but he or she has a professional duty to do this. One thing to bear in mind; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it may be of interest to your future buyer what the searches contain. Sometimes houses with no practical issues can still throw up adverse search results. But if you demand that your lawyer to proceed without searches then your lawyer will have to follow your instructions or you will need to swap to an alternative solicitor for your conveyancing in Wootton Bridge.
When researching mumsnet.com for a cheap solicitor in Wootton Bridge, most post that I must look for a CQS kitemarked solicitor. Can you explain what CQS is?
The Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme is the recognised kitemark for legal experts in home moving process, trusted by some of the UK's leading mortgage companies. Four years ago the Conveyancing Quality Scheme was officially recognised by the Legal Ombudsman. The scheme does not cover licenced conveyancers. Wootton Bridge is one of the numerous areas of the UK where there are Accredited solicitors.
Various internet forums that I have visited warn that are the main cause of hinderance in Wootton Bridge house deals. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the findings of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the most frequent causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Searches are not likely to feature in any delay in conveyancing in Wootton Bridge.
I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Wootton Bridge where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Wootton Bridge conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?
As long as the seller has been the owner 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 sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
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 purchaser.
I acquired a split level flat in Wootton Bridge, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Wootton Bridge with over 90 years remaining are worth £211,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2093
You have 68 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as costs.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.
Me and my partner have recently had an offer agreed on a flat and had meeting on Wednesday with Leeds Building Society for the mortgage. They have informed us that when it comes to choosing a conveyancing practitioner that if they are not on their approved list of property lawyers then we will be subject to an a further fee of £250+. This is because they will then have to instruct a property lawyer to act for them in addition to the one we choose to act for ourselves and we are liable for their fees. I have asked Leeds Building Society to provide me with a list so I can request estimates only from their approved lawyers but was told that I need to check with each individual conveyancer to see if they are on the panel. Is their an easier way of going about this?
Ask Leeds Building Society what their panel criteria is for a conveyancer.Thereafter ask the conveyancer of your choice whether they fit that criteria and have they acted on mortgages for Leeds Building Society historically. Where the answer to those is yes, then just clarify this with Leeds Building Society. Another option is to make use of our search tool and we should be able to identify a conveyancing practitioner in Wootton Bridge on the approved list for Leeds Building Society.