My wife and I are only a couple days away from an exchange on a flat in Clerkenwell and my mum and dad have transferred the exchange deposit to my property lawyer. I am now informed that as the deposit has not arrived from me my conveyancer needs to disclose this to my bank. I am advised that, in also acting for the mortgage company he must inform them that the balance of the purchase price is not just from me. I disclosed to the mortgage company about my parents' contribution when I applied for the mortgage, so is it really necessary for him to raise this?
Your conveyancing practitioner is legally required to clarify with the bank to ensure that they understand that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own resources. Your solicitor can only disclose this to your bank if you permit them to, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
My partner and I are selling our property in Clerkenwell and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was constructed land that was not decontaminated. A local conveyancer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the purchasers are using an internet conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Clerkenwell. Having lived in Clerkenwell for 4 years we know of no issue. Do we contact our local Authority to seek clarification that the buyers are looking for.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing lawyer currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You should check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same illness)
I have recentlybecome aware that Stirling Law have closed. They conducted my conveyancing in Clerkenwell for a purchase of a freehold house 12 months ago. How can I check that the property is registered correctly in the name of the former proprietor?
The quickest way to see if the property is in your name, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Clerkenwell conveyancing specialists.
I am purchasing my first flat in Clerkenwell with a loan from Britannia. The sellers refused to budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent suggested that I not to tell my solicitor about the deal as it may affect my loan with the lender. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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.
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Clerkenwell both have about fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?
A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease deteriorates and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena.
I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can one apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Clerkenwell conveyancing firm to represent me?
Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to determine the price payable.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Clerkenwell flat is Flat 89 Trinity Court Grays Inn Road in February 2013. the Tribunal found that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 should be £36,229. This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 66.8 years.
My son is just in the process of moving house, the home loan was agreed last week in principle. After the seller agreed the offer on the flat we called the mortgage company to issue the formal offer. We were very surprised to hear that mortgage companies do not accept all solicitor, they must be on their panel, is this right?
Lenders tend to restrict either the type or the number of conveyancing practices on their approved list of lawyers. 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 Clerkenwell solicitor 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? Presumably not.
