My solicitor has identified a a legal deficiency with the lease for the apartment we are buying in Mersea Island. The other side have offered title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our solicitor says that he must be satisfied that the bank is willing to move forward with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the mortgage company ?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the lender are the client. Your conveyancing practitioner must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the bank can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. 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.
We're in Mersea Island, First timers purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Coventry BS , and our lawyer is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no property lawyer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
I was pointed in your direction by numerous selling agents in Mersea Island to select a solicitor on your site. Is there a financial upside for Estate Agents to recommend your site rather than a competitor’s?
We don’t give any referral fee for pointing buyers and sellers our way. We found it would be just too difficult a fee because a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.
Should I instruct a Mersea Island conveyancing lawyer who is local to the property I am buying? I have an old university friend who can execute the conveyancing however her office is 400miles drive away.
The primary upside of using a high street Mersea Island conveyancing practice is that you can pop in to sign paperwork, hand in your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. They will also have local insight which is a plus. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust instructed your friend and in the main were happy that must trump using an unknown Mersea Island conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being local.
Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Mersea Island with the intention of saving time on the sale process?
- Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Mersea Island can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers. Many landlords or managing agents in Mersea Island levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold home. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Mersea Island. Some Mersea Island leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents 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 yearly 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers. You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale. If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Mersea Island home move. If a reissued share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.
I own a ground floor flat in Mersea Island, conveyancing having been completed 4 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Mersea Island with over 90 years remaining are worth £180,000. The ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2083
With 59 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £20,900 and £24,200 plus costs.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.
How does one remove a deceased person's name from the title deeds for a property in Mersea Island?
If a Mersea Island property is co-owned and one of the owners dies, the name will not automatically be removed from the Land Registry title. You are not required to amend the title as when it comes to a disposal your lawyer would just be asked to evidence as to the reason the other owner is not included in the contract, such as a grant of probate.
With the aim of making the sale conveyancing smoother for the sale of the property you can apply to have the deceased person removed from the title register by applying to the land registry with proof of the death. There is no charge from the Registry for this service.