Our solicitor has identified a defect with the lease for the property we are purchasing in Belvedere. The other side have suggested title insurance as a solution. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our solicitor says that he must check that the mortgage company is willing to move forward with this solution. Are we the client or is the bank?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the lender are the client. Your solicitor must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the mortgage company can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your conveyancer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
Finally the sale completed on my house in Belvedere last July but our buyer keeps SMS messaging me to say their solicitor is waiting to hear from mine. What should have happened now that I have sold?
After completion of your house sale your conveyancer is obliged to deliver the transfer documentation and all additional paperwork to the purchaser's solicitors. Where appropriate, your conveyancer should also send confirmation that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been redeemed to the buyers lawyers. There are no post completion tasks unique to conveyancing in Belvedere.
Do I have to pop into the offices of the solicitor to execute the legal charge? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Belvedere so that I can attend their offices if necessary.
As opposed to 12 years ago, the vast majority mortgage companies no longer oblige their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the mortgagors signature. It will still be necessary for you to hand over ID documents and there are still distinct benefits to using a local solicitor, in your situation a conveyancing solicitor in Belvedere.
I am using a search engine for the words cheap conveyancing in Belvedere it brings up numerous solicitorsin the area. How do I determine which is the right conveyancing solicitor for me?
The preferential method of finding a suitable conveyancer is through a personal testimonial, so seek the guidance of friends and those you trust who have purchased a property in Belvedere or the local estate agent or mortgage broker. Charges for conveyancing in Belvedere vary, so it's advisable to secure a minimum of three fee estimates from different property lawyers. Be sure to secure confirmation that the charges are guaranteed not to increase.
Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Belvedere with the aim of expediting the sale process?
- Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Belvedere can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives. If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a Belvedere conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity. If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled. If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Belvedere state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you fail to have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance. The majority of freeholders or managing agents in Belvedere levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Belvedere.
I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such issues? Can you recommend a Belvedere conveyancing firm to assist?
if there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the price.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Belvedere property is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case affected 13 flats. The unexpired lease term was 76 years.
Myself and my partner have just had an offer accepted on a house and had meeting on Wednesday with Nationwide for the mortgage. They warned me that when it comes to selecting a solicitor that unless they are on their approved panel of property lawyers then we will incur an additional charge of about two hundred pounds. This is is due to the fact that they will then have to appoint a property lawyer to act on their behalf in addition to the one we appoint on our behalf and we will be on the hook for their costs. I have asked Nationwide to furnish me with a list so I can seek quotes only from their approved conveyancers but was told they dont have such a list to hand over. What would be the best way of going about this?
You should ask Nationwide what their panel criteria is for a conveyancer.Then ask the property lawyer of your choice whether they meet the criteria and have they acted on loans for Nationwide previously. If the answer to those is yes, then just double check with Nationwide. Another option is to make use of our search facility and we may be able to identify a lawyer in Belvedere on the panel for Nationwide.