My fiance and I are planning to acquire a home in Bromley and have appointed a Bromley conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Alliance & Leicester have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Bromley lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers 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 Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer 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 lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Bromley lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
I am buying a house for cash in Bromley. I have been residing for the previous twelve years in Bromley. Conveyancing searches are exorbitant. As I have knowledge of the road and vicinity very well must I have all the conveyancing searches?
In the absence of a mortgage, then the vast majority of the Bromley conveyancing searches are non-obligatory. Your solicitor will ’encourage you, perhaps strongly, that you should have searches completed, but he has a professional duty to take that path of encouragement . One thing to bear in mind; if you are likely to sell the house in the future, it may be of interest to your future buyer what the searches reveal. Sometimes premises with no practical issues can still throw up detrimental search results. A competent conveyancing solicitor in Bromley will be able to give you some constructive guidance concerning this.
Is there a reason why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Bromley is more expensive?
The conveyancing costs on a leasehold premises in Bromley is frequently more expensive as compared to a freehold transaction. This is due to the extra investigations required in liaising with the freeholder and management company to obtain evidence concerning whether the rent and service fee have been paid and whether there are any significant expenditure in the near future on repairs or maintenance of the building.
Is it the case that all Bromley CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Kent Reliance conveyancing list of approved firms?
A selection of banks and building societies now make use of CQS as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to remain on their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
We are getting a further advance on our mortgage from Lloyds as we intend to carry out renovations to our property in Bromley. Do we need to appoint a local Bromley solicitor on the Lloyds conveyancing panel to handle the paperwork?
Lloyds would not normally require firms on their conveyancing panel to deal with such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Lloyds list.
I've digested plenty of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Bromley solicitor - who is on the RBS conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
RBS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually RBS 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. Your conveyancer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Bromley postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with RBS, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Bromley.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £245,000 and found one close by in Bromley I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 52 years on the lease. There is not much else in Bromley in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
If you need a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be an issue. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this.
I own a leasehold house in Bromley. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Bromley who acted for me is not around. Do I pay?
First contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Bromley conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
Notwithstanding our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Bromley. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Bromley conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Bromley flat is Ravensbourne Lodge 4 Highland Road in February 2013. the Tribunal held that the amount payable for the freehold was £22,268