My husband and I are looking to purchase a house in Alfriston and have appointed a Alfriston conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Lloyds TSB Bank have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Alfriston solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. 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 mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Alfriston lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
Completed the sale of my flat in Alfriston last August but the buyer keeps whats apping daily to say their solicitor is waiting to hear from mylawyer. What should my lawyer have done now that I have sold?
Following your house sale your conveyancer should deliver the transfer deeds and all of the paperwork to the buyer’s lawyers. Where appropriate, your conveyancer must also confirm that the mortgage has been redeemed to the purchasers solicitors. There are no post completion tasks just for conveyancing in Alfriston.
Do I need to have a meeting at the offices of the solicitor to execute the mortgage deed? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Alfriston so that I can pop in to their offices when needed.
Most approved lawyers for banks conduct all of the communications through Royal Mail, e-mail or over the phone. This enables them to undertake the conveyancing transaction no matter where you live in England or Wales. Nevertheless you should check if you have the option of visiting the offices of your conveyancing lawyer if you prefer.
I have a terraced Edwardian house in Alfriston. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Chelsea Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the matching property. Is it worth asking Chelsea Building Society to clarify?
You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Alfriston and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also enquire as to the position with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the work.
Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Alfriston ahead of appointing solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. My surveyor has said that some lenders will not grant a loan on this type of home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different requirements for example to Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can check via the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Alfriston. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Alfriston where we see a few flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Alfriston conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has owned the lease 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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having 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.
Alfriston Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing
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You should be aware if it is fewer than eighty years it will affect the marketability of the apartment. Check with your mortgage company that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. A short lease means that you will almost definitely need a lease extension at some point and it is worth discovering how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would be be obliged to have been the owner of the premises for two years before you are eligible to extend the lease. Its a good idea to discover as much as possible regarding the managing agents as they can either make living at the property much easier or problematic. As the owner of a leasehold property you are often at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to daily issues such as the cleanliness of the communal areas. Enquire of prospective neighbours what they think of them. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and specifically how they are spending that money. How many years remain on the lease?