We intend to purchase a 2 bedroom flat in Christchurch with a loan from National Westminster Bank.We have a Christchurch conveyancing solicitor but National Westminster Bank advised that her practice is not listed on their approved list of member firms. We have to appoint a National Westminster Bank panel solicitor or retain our high street solicitor and fork out for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The home loan issued to you contains terms and conditions, one of which will be that solicitors must be on the National Westminster Bank approved list. in the past, most mortgage companies had large numbers of solicitors on their panels: a borrower could find one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for National Westminster Bank
What can a local search reveal concerning the house I am purchasing in Christchurch?
Christchurch conveyancing often starts with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search organisations for instance PSG The local search is essential in every Christchurch conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any nasty once you have moved into your property. The search will provide information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 topic sections.
Me and my brother have a 4 bedroom Georgian house in Christchurch. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and The Royal Bank of Scotland. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Christchurch and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also question the position with your conveyancing solicitor who carried out the work.
I'm purchasing a new build house in Christchurch with a loan from HSBC Bank. The developers would not budge the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The estate agent advised me not to tell my lawyer about this extras as it will adversely affect my mortgage with the bank. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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.
There are only Seventy years remaining on my lease in Christchurch. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?
If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Christchurch.
I purchased a studio flat in Christchurch, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar properties in Christchurch with a long lease are worth £216,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease finishes on 21st October 2095
You have 70 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as legals.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.
Why can't I complete our conveyancing in Christchurch on Good Friday?
Because on completion the funds will pass between the banks of the buyer and owner’s property lawyer and currently this can only take place on a business day. So you can't complete on a weekend either.