We wanted to use a conveyancing solicitor in Battersea for our house purchase. Our broker has since notified us that our mortgage company Alliance & Leicester won't deal with them. Surely this is unfair competition?
Pre- 2008 most banks had a different appetite for risk. Almost all Battersea conveyancing firms would have been on most lender panels. The financial services regulator in 2010 completed a thematic investigation into mortgage fraud which come to the conclusion: know the conveyancing solicitors dealt with. Consequently, lenders have regularly sought more data from law firms regarding their operations and the individuals who work for them and set certain criteria such a completing on a minimum number of transactions. Many Battersea conveyancing firms that have been excluded from lender panels have Unblemished track record, no complaints and no claims and didn't just 'dabble' in conveyancing. Battersea is one of the many locations where the conveyancers showing on our search results are are authorised to act for Alliance & Leicester .
Is it the case that all Battersea conveyancing solicitors on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel are regulated by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Many banks do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the firms would be regulated by the CLC.
I'm at the point of viewing flats in Battersea and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it best to have a conveyancer on ‘stand by’? I am planning to take a home loan with Clydesdale.
You should start obtaining conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their contact information on to the estate agent. Given that you are getting a mortgage with Clydesdale, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel.
I am selling my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in December 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, Santander are being a right pain. The Battersea solicitor who is on the Santander conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Santander are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Santander have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Santander have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Santander may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
My wife and I own a semi-detached Victorian house in Battersea. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and TSB. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You should read 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 proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Battersea and other locations in 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 purchasers. You can also question the position with the conveyancing solicitor who carried out the work.
Should I be wary that estate agents that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use an online conveyancing firm rather than a High Street Battersea conveyancing firm?
As is the case with lots of service providers, often referrals from family and friends can be most helpful. Yet there are lots of parties with a keen interest in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, financial adviser and mortgage companies may recommend conveyancers to use. On occasion the lawyers might be known to one of the organisations as experts in their field, but sometimes there exists a financial incentive behind the recommendation. You are at liberty to appoint your own conveyancer. You need to be aware that most lenders have an approved list of lawyers you must use for the mortgage related work in your transaction.
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Battersea which have approximately fifty years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?
There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Battersea is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive 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 premises 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 Battersea conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. 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 am the proprietor of a ground-floor 1950’s flat in Battersea. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium payable for a lease extension?
in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the LVT to judgment on the premium.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Battersea flat is 150A Albert Palace Mansions Lurline Gardens in July 2013. The Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the new lease of the subject property was £42,069 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 57.06 years.
At long last our conveyancing in Battersea is completing next Friday, yet the people I am purchasing off wants to vacate on the Saturday at 2pm. Do I accept this?
If you need a bank loan then your solicitor will insist that the property isvacant on Friday - the mortgage company will insist on it.