My apartment in Dulwich is up for sale and I have accepted an offer. Will the solicitor have to be on the Barclays conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Barclays conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their panel criteria fairly frequently at the moment.
Is it the case that all Dulwich CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the UBS conveyancing list of approved practices?
A selection of lenders now use CQS as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to remain on their approved list of firms.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Dulwich. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Virgin Money have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As your lender is Virgin Money your lawyer must check the formal requirements contained in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Virgin Money. The CML Handbook sets out minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancers are required to report to Virgin Money where a lease does not satisfy these specifications. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not isolated to Dulwich.
The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Dulwich. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Team at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.
We are planning on selling our home in Dulwich and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was built land that was not decontaminated. A high street Dulwich conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers used an online conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Dulwich. We have lived in Dulwich for six years we know that this is a non issue. Should we get in touch with our local Authority to obtain confirmation that there is no issue.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing solicitor currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You should enquire of 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 health insurance to cover that same sickness)
How does conveyancing in Dulwich differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Dulwich approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is finished. This is because developers in Dulwich tend to acquire the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Dulwich or who has acted in the same development.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £195,000 and found one round the corner in Dulwich I like with a park and station in the vicinity, however it only has 49 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Dulwich suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
If you need a mortgage that many years may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.
If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £475,000 maisonette in Dulwich next week. The management company has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Dulwich?
Dulwich conveyancing on leasehold flats normally results in fees being levied by freeholders :
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Completing pre-exchange enquiries
Where consent is required before sale in Dulwich
Supplying insurance information
Deeds of covenant upon sale
Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
I am the registered owner of a ground floor flat in Dulwich. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum due for the purchase of the freehold?
in cases where there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the LVT to arrive at the price payable.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Dulwich premises is 60 Taymount Grange Taymount Rise in June 2012. The Tribunal determined the premium at £13,346 for a lease extension of a further 90 years This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 64 years.
