My fiance and I are looking to purchase a house in Bexleyheath and are in fact using a Bexleyheath conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Coventry Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Bexleyheath conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for 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 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Bexleyheath solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
We are expecting a mortgage offer soon. The bank mentioned the mortgage came with free conveyancing. Does this mean I have to instruct their panel lawyer as I would much rather appoint a Bexleyheath based conveyancing firm?
Do check but the the likelihood is that appoint one of their panel conveyancers if you want the "fee-free" offer. Call the lender to determine if they offer you a monetary alternative. Some banks have previously offered a £250 cashback as an alternative in which case that money can go towards your preferred conveyancing solicitor in Bexleyheath.
I understand that there are debates on Chancel Insurance on online forums. Do I require chancel insurance when buying a property in Bexleyheath? or Apparently there is historic law that means some house owners living in a parish church boundary may be liable to pay for maintenance to the chancel in proximity to the church. Is this applicable for conveyancing in Bexleyheath?
Unless a prior acquisition of the property took place post 12 October 2013 you can take it that conveyancing practitioners conducting conveyancing in Bexleyheath to continue to advocate a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
Just had an offer accepted on a new build flat in Bexleyheath. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.
Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Bexleyheath
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If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided.
Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Bexleyheath with the aim of speeding up the sale process?
- Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bexleyheath can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers’ representatives. Many freeholders or Management Companies in Bexleyheath charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have 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 frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bexleyheath. Some Bexleyheath leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Bexleyheath leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. If you dont have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor in advance.
Having spent years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Bexleyheath. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Bexleyheath conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Bexleyheath premises 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 residue of the current lease was 76 years.
Should local authority permission be required to change a single dwelling into a couple of flats in Bexleyheath? This has been done to a property opposite to a friend in Bexleyheath and was not aware of the conversion until after the works were done.
Planning consent is necessary for converting a single house in Bexleyheath into apartments but possibly not for converting once again to single dwelling-house so, simply put, yes,a it is required.