My husband and I are looking to buy a home in Beckenham and have appointed a Beckenham conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Lloyds TSB Bank have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Beckenham solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. 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 solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Beckenham solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my lawyer’s firm is suspended from the Kent Reliance Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Beckenham?
First, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.
Have purchased a a semi-detached house in Beckenham , What is the estimated time for the Land Registry to deal with the formalities evidencing my title? My Beckenham conveyancing solicitor works at snail pace, so I want to be certain the registration is dealt with.
As far as conveyancing in Beckenham registration is no quicker or slower than anywhere else in England and Wales. Rather than based on location, timeframes can differ according to the party submitting the application, whether it is in order and whether the Land registry communicate with any other persons or bodies. As of today approximately 80% of such applications are fully addressed within 12 days but occasionally there can be longer delays. Registration takes place after the new owner has moved in to the premises thus post completion formalities is not usually primary concern yet where there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your lawyers could communicate with the Registry to express the reasoning for an expedited registration.
I am purchasing my first flat in Beckenham with a mortgage from Britannia. The builders would not reduce the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative advised me not to tell my solicitor about the side-deal as it may impact my mortgage with the bank. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what should have been a simple, chain free conveyancing. Beckenham is where the house is located. What do you suggest?
Flying freeholds in Beckenham are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Beckenham you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Beckenham 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.
Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Beckenham. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.
Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Beckenham - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Beckenham conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?
Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Beckenham conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Beckenham property is 26 Manor Road in July 2010. the Tribunal decided that price to be paid for the freehold was £12,420 This case affected 2 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 76.75 and 88.83.