My financial adviser has requested my Benfleet solicitor’s panel reference for the Nat West conveyancing panel. What is the best way to find this out. I have e-mailed my local Benfleet branch but they have not responded to me.
The sensible thing to do is ask for this information from your Benfleet conveyancing practitioner . They maintain a central record lender panel numbers.
I am purchasing a property without a mortgage in Benfleet. I have been residing for the last twelve years in Benfleet. Conveyancing searches are expensive. Given that I have knowledge of the area and road very well must I have all the conveyancing searches?
If you not getting a mortgage, then the vast majority of the Benfleet conveyancing searches are optional. Your lawyer will try and sway you, no-doubt strongly, that you should have searches done, but he is duty bound to take that path of advice. One thing to consider; if you are going to dispose of the house in the future, it will likely be be of relevance to your prospective buyer what the searches disclose. Sometimes houses with apparent issues can still throw up unfavourable search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in Benfleet should be able to give you some helpful advice concerning this.
Have just purchased a probate house at auction in Benfleet. Conveyancing is necessary. What are my next steps?
Now that you have exchanged you must choose a conveyancing lawyer as a matter of priority as you now have a tight a drop dead date to complete the conveyancing. An auction property should have a bespoke legal set of papers. This should include evidence of title and search results. Where you are dealing with leasehold premises the legal papers may include a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing documentation relating to a leasehold property. You must hand this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor as soon as possible. Do make sure that your finances are in order to complete the transaction on the set completion date.
It is not clear whether my mortgage offer obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called into my local Benfleet bank branch on a couple of occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they will lend. My Benfleet conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- called to say that they will not lend based on their specific requirements. Who do I believe?
The conveyancing practitioner must comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook Part 2 provisions for your lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the lender will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Benfleet conveyancing practitioner having checked that they are on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Coventry BS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Coventry BS 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. You may wish to consider appointing your own Benfleet surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Benfleet I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 61 years on the lease. There is not much else in Benfleet in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?
If you require a mortgage that many years may be problematic. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 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 current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.
Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Benfleet. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?
Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Benfleet should include some of the following:
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You would want to be sent a copy of the lease The landlord’s rights to access the premises. You should be made aware that your landlord has rights of access as well as be informed how much notice must be provided. Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice? What the implications are if you are in breach of your lease terms? Are pets allowed in the flat?
I invested in buying a studio flat in Benfleet, conveyancing was carried out 5 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar flats in Benfleet with over 90 years remaining are worth £227,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2092
With 72 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as costs.
The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.
My 20yr old son is about to join the property ladder, he had his mortgage in principle. After the seller agreed the offer on the house we rang the lender to progress the mortgage application. We were disappointed to hear that banks do not accept all property lawyer, they have to be on a list, is this legal?
Banks normally restrict either the type or the number of conveyancing firms on their panel. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that banks have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Benfleet property lawyer on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Unlikely.