Willretaining a Avery Hill conveyancing practice make the legal process smoother?
Avery Hill is a unique place, where neighbourhood know-how counts for a lot. The laid-back lifestyle has it’s attractions – but not when it comes to your conveyancing. The property lawyers that we work with host in-depth Avery Hill insight with a positive, can doapproach that helps the conveyancing to progress with the minimum of fuss. It is a definite plus where they enjoy established connections with financial advisers, search providers, valuers and other Avery Hill conveyancing firms
I do hope you can help me. My Avery Hill lawyer is advising me that he has toapply for Avery Hill conveyancing searches resulting from the fact thatthe firm are on the Virgin Moneyapproved lawyer panel. Is this really necessary?
You have limited options available to you. Given that you are taking out a loan with a mortgage company your lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook provisions . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Avery Hill conveyancing searches.
It is a dozen years since I purchased my house in Avery Hill. Conveyancing solicitors have just been instructed on the sale but I can't track down my deeds. Will this cause complications?
You need not be too concerned. First the deeds may be kept by the lender or they may be in the possession of the lawyers who handled the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the title 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 up to date copy of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Avery Hill relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it is more problematic but is not insurmountable.
This question may be naive but I am wet behind the ears as a first time buyer of a ground floor flat in Avery Hill. Do I pick up the keys to the house on completion from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will use a local conveyancing solicitor in Avery Hill?
On the day of completion you do not need to attend the conveyancers office in Avery Hill. Your solicitors will arrange to send the completion advance to the seller's conveyancers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you should be invited to collect the keys from the selling Agents and move into your new home. Usually this happens early afternoon.
I had a mortgage agreed in principle with Yorkshire BS. Avery Hill conveyancing solicitors are chosen. How long does it take for Yorkshire BS to forward the offer to the conveyancer?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have Yorkshire BS done the survey? Have you informed Yorkshire BS as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
I've read lots 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 Avery Hill solicitor - who is on the UBS conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
UBS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually UBS 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 Avery Hill postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with UBS, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Avery Hill.
I am looking for a flat up to £245,000 and found one close by in Avery Hill I like with open areas and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Avery Hill for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will be an issue. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the property for at least 2 years you may ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Avery Hill which have in the region of fifty years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?
There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Avery Hill is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the property. For most buyers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Avery Hill conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.
I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can I make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Avery Hill conveyancing firm to assist?
Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Avery Hill conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Avery Hill flat 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 was in relation to 1 flat.