My husband and I are looking to purchase a flat in Becontree Heath and are in fact using a Becontree Heath conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Barclays Direct have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Becontree Heath lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor 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 lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Becontree Heath lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our property are lost. The solicitors who handled the conveyancing in Becontree Heath 4 years ago have long since closed. What do I do?
In today’s world there are copies made of almost everything, and your conveyancer should be aware exactly where to locate all the suitable paperwork so you may buy or dispose of your house without any difficulty. Where copies are not available, your solicitor may be able to put in place insurance or indemnities protecting you against possible claims on the property.
I am looking for a flat up to £195,000 and found one near me in Becontree Heath I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 61 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Becontree Heath for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
If you require a mortgage that many years will likely be an issue. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least twenty four months you can ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.
Should I be concerned that brokers that I am dealing with are recommending a web based conveyancing firm rather than a local Becontree Heath conveyancing practice?
As is the case with many service providers, often input from family and friends can be extremely useful or valuable. Nevertheless there are many parties with a keen interest in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, financial adviser and mortgage companies might all put forward solicitors to choose. On occasion these solicitors might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but occasionally there exists a commercial relationship behind the recommendation. You are at liberty to choose your own lawyer. However, bear in mind that the majority of mortgage providers specify a panel list of lawyers you are obliged to use for the lender related work in your transaction.
Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Becontree Heath with the aim of expediting the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Becontree Heath can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors. A minority of Becontree Heath 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 obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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. You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Becontree Heath conveyancing transaction. If a new share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Becontree Heath conveyancing firm to help?
Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Becontree Heath conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Becontree Heath property is 49 Aldborough Road South in July 2012. The Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of the new lease was £13,925 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 61.36 years.
What are my options where I am unhappy with the solicitor who carried out our conveyancing in Becontree Heath?
Occasionally the level of service you receive is not as you expect, and unfortunately sometimes matters do not go as planned. That being said there is recourse where you were unhappy with your conveyancing in Becontree Heath. This varies from trying to resolve matters directly with them, through to reporting a conveyancer to their regulator. If you remain aggrieved you may consider getting in touch with the Legal Ombudsman.