It is a dozen years since I bought my house in Foots Cray. Conveyancing lawyers have now been appointed on the sale but I can't locate my title documents. Is this a problem?
You need not be too concerned. First the deeds may be kept by the mortgage company or they may be in the possession of the solicitor who acted in the purchase. Secondly the chances are that the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers procuring current official copies of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Foots Cray involves registered property but in the rare situation where your home is not registered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
Is it the case that all Foots Cray conveyancing solicitors on the Lloyds conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Lloyds approved list of solicitors they would need to be overseen by the SRA. Many banks do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the firms would be overseen by the CLC.
My partner and I have organised a further advance on our home loan from Barclays as we want to carry out a loft conversion to our property in Foots Cray. Do we need to choose a high street Foots Cray solicitor on the Barclays conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
Barclays do not ordinarily appoint firms on their conveyancing panel to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Barclays panel.
I am due to exchange contracts on my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in September 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, Co-operative are being a right pain. The Foots Cray solicitor who is on the Co-operative conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Co-operative are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Co-operative have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Co-operative have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Co-operative may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
Should my conveyancer be making enquiries concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Foots Cray.
Flooding is a growing risk for lawyers specialising in conveyancing in Foots Cray. Plenty of people will purchase a house in Foots Cray, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or sell the property. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Lawyers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a numerous checks that can be carried out by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which will figure out the risks in Foots Cray. The standard property information forms given to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) incorporates a standard inquiry of the vendor to find out if the property has suffered from flooding. In the event that flooding has previously occurred and is not revealed by the vendor, then a purchaser may bring a claim for damages stemming from an incorrect reply. A purchaser’s lawyers may also order an enviro report. This will indicate if there is any known flood risk. If so, additional inquiries will need to be made.
I'm buying my first flat in Foots Cray with the aid of help to buy. The sellers would not budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not to tell my lawyer about the deal as it could put at risk my mortgage with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing lawyer in Foots Cray for my house move. Can I check a solicitor's complaints history with the legal regulator?
Anyone can review presented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations resulting from inquisitions commenced on or after Jan 2008. Go to Check a solicitor's record. For details Pre 2008, or to check a firm's record, ring 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For callers outside the UK, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA may recorded call for training requirements.
All being well we will complete our sale of a £200,000 apartment in Foots Cray next Monday. The management company has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Foots Cray?
Foots Cray conveyancing on leasehold flats usually necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They are at liberty to charge a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.
Following months of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Foots Cray. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Foots Cray conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Foots Cray residence is 103a Footscray Road in January 2014. The tribunal determines that the premium payable for the extended lease should be £34,500 according to the expert witness valuation calculation This case affected 1 flat.