My wife and I are hoping to acquire a property in Aylestone and have instructed a Aylestone conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Britannia have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Aylestone lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is usual 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 Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Aylestone solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
Do the Building Society Association intend to launch a searchable register to list practices on the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society conveyancing panel for instance in Aylestone?
We are not aware of any intention on the part of the BSA to promote such a register.
My lawyer has informed me that lack of planning permission insurance is required on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Aylestone?
The right level of lack of planning permission indemnity insurance depends on your lender. It would differ for example between National Westminster Bank and Coventry Building Society. Conveyancing lawyers as opposed to members of the public take out such policies.
Are all Aylestone Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel?
A selection of banks and building societies now make use of the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS accreditation however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to join their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
Intending to buy a flat in Aylestone. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Aylestone property lawyer is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel.
Do I need to pay for insurance to address the risk of chancel repairs when buying a residence in Aylestone?
Unless a prior purchase of the premises completed after 12 October 2013 you can take it that lawyers delivering conveyancing in Aylestone to remain encouraging a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.
I am looking for a flat up to £235,500 and found one close by in Aylestone I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, however it only has 52 years on the lease. There is not much else in Aylestone suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
If you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term may be an issue. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.
I own a leasehold flat in Aylestone. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Aylestone who previously acted has now retired. What should I do?
First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Aylestone conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
I own a ground floor flat in Aylestone, conveyancing having been completed February 2009. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Aylestone with over 90 years remaining are worth £216,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2094
With 70 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.