All was ready to complete my purchase in Dover next Monday. I have now been asked to send a copy of my building insurance schedule by my solicitor as he says that he has to check this in his capacity as lawyer for the mortgage company. What does the insurance need to cover?
All property lawyers on acting for lenders would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in a lender’s Part 2 requirements. These obligations are not unique to conveyancing in Dover.
Having sold my house in Dover last December but my buyer keeps e-mailing me to say their conveyancer needs to hear from mysolicitor. What should my lawyer have done following completion?
Following your sale your conveyancer should deliver the transfer deeds and all additional paperwork to the purchaser's conveyancer. Where relevant, your solicitor should also evidence that the home loan has been repaid to the purchasers lawyers. There is unlikely to be post completion tasks just for conveyancing in Dover.
The Dover conveyancing firm that I recently instructed on my purchase in Dover have suddenly shut down. I chose them because I needed a lawyer on the Co-operative conveyancing panel and my preferred Dover lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take £195 for searches. What are my options?
If you have an estate agent involved then let them know straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Co-operative conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers may be able to assist.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Dover. Conveyancing is daunting 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 is a sample of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Dover
-
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. Please supply a car parking plan. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore.
What makes a Dover lease unacceptable for security purposes?
There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Dover. All leases are drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:
-
A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, Skipton Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.
Dover Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to buying
-
Who is in charge of the block? How many years remain on the lease? Please inform me if there are any major works anticipated that could add a premium to the maintenance costs?
Much to my surprise my property lawyer in Dover is asking me for identification documents stating that this forms part of his legal duty as a solicitor on the lender Solicitor panel. This is news to me - can I refuse?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require Dover conveyancing solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the identity of the person or body they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing business. The Terms and Conditions that you need to sign will no doubt confirm this. Your lawyer is right that the lender also require certain documents to be viewed. If a you refuse to provide ID verification documents, your conveyancer would not be able to accept instructions from you. Your lawyer also has obligations to obtain certain documents in accordance with the bank's UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements