I had intended to instruct a property lawyer in Disley for our house purchase. Our broker has since advised us that our mortgage company Alliance & Leicester won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unfair competition?
Mortgage Companies on the whole imposes restrictions either the category or the number of conveyancing firms on their panel. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a law practice must not be a sole practitioner. In addition to restricting the profile of firm, some have limited the amount of firms they allow to represent them. You should note that Alliance & Leicester have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Alliance & Leicester Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a primary driver in the reduction of solicitor panels a few years ago even though there remains differing opinions concerning the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Figures from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms, including some in or near Disley only conduct one or two conveyances a year.
I just bought a property at auction in Disley. Conveyancing is needed. What happens now?
Having legally bound yourself to purchase you should instruct a conveyancing lawyer quickly as you will have a pending deadline in which to complete the deal. An auction property will have a bespoke legal pack. This will likely include evidence of title and search results. In the case of leasehold property the legal papers should provide a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing documentation specific to leasehold premises. You should pass this on to your appointed conveyancing solicitor as soon as possible. Do make sure that your finances are organised to complete the transaction on the set completion date.
I have paid off my mortgage with Clydesdale. I assume I don't need a Disley conveyancing practitioner on the Clydesdale panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Clydesdale mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Clydesdale mortgage from the register. Clydesdale, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Clydesdale has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Clydesdale has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I am selling my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in May 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, Coventry BS are being pedantic. The Disley solicitor who is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Coventry BS are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Coventry BS have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Coventry BS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Coventry BS may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
What can a local search tell me regarding the property we're purchasing in Disley?
Disley 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 plays a central role in many a Disley conveyancing purchase; as long as you wish to avoid any nasty surprises after you move into your new home. The search should provide data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the property (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 thirteen topic headings.
I opted to have a survey completed on a property in Disley prior to appointing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. My surveyor advised that some lenders tend refuse to give a loan on this type of house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different requirements from Halifax. If you call us we can check with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Disley. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Disley to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
Helen (my wife) and I may need to sub-let our Disley 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Disley conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?
Notwithstanding that your previous Disley conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.
I bought a ground floor flat in Disley, conveyancing was carried out 9 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent flats in Disley with an extended lease are worth £197,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2080
You have 55 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £31,400 and £36,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.
The lawyers conducting our conveyancing in Disley has sent papers to review that state the land is unregistered with epitome documents. How can it be that the property not currently recorded at the Land Registry?
It is unusual for premises in Disley not to be registered. An 'epitome' is basically a dossier of photocopies of documents affecting an unregistered title. Plenty of Disley conveyancing lawyers should be familiar with such matters but where uncertainty prevails the prevailing advice these days appears to be for the current owners to address the registration formalities first and subsequently sell - this will have a domino effect to cause a protracted transaction.