My lawyer has uncovered a defect with the lease for the apartment we are buying in Abbey Wood. The seller’s lawyers have offered title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our property lawyer has advised that he must be satisfied that the lender is willing to move forward with this solution. Are we the client or is the mortgage company ?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the bank are the client. Your lawyer 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 mortgage company 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 property lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
How up to date is your search tool for Abbey Wood conveyancing solicitors on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel? Do Kent Reliance send you an updated list?
Abbey Wood conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Kent Reliance directly.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Abbey Wood. I have a mortgage agreed with Kent Reliance. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Kent Reliance, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel.
I can not work out if my bank obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have telephoned my Abbey Wood building society branch on various occasions and was informed it wasn't a problem and they would lend. My Abbey Wood conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- called and was told they refuse to lend based on their published requirements. I simply don't know who is right.
As long as the property lawyer is on the lender panel, they must adhere to the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook requirements for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
I've digested plenty of mortgage guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Abbey Wood solicitor - who is on the RBS conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
RBS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually RBS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your conveyancing practitioner will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Abbey Wood postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with RBS, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Abbey Wood.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a quick, chain free conveyancing. Abbey Wood is where the house is located. Can you offer any assistance?
Flying freeholds in Abbey Wood are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Abbey Wood you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Abbey Wood 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 premises.
I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Abbey Wood where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Abbey Wood conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 have given up negotiating a lease extension in Abbey Wood. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Abbey Wood conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Abbey Wood property is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case related to 13 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 76 years.
I need to switch lawyers as my Abbey Wood lawyer is not on the bank's approved list of conveyancing solicitors. Is it practical to instruct different lawyers?
If you haven't yet appointed a conveyancer to commence the conveyancing and have just received quotes, you're perfectly free to choose a different solicitor to carry out your work for you. The best way is to get recommendations from friends or family who have actually used the solicitor or conveyancer in Abbey Wood that you're thinking of instructing.