My conveyancer has discovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the flat we are purchasing in East Dulwich. The other side have suggested title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our property lawyer has advised that he must be satisfied that the mortgage company is content with this solution. Are we the client or is the bank?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the lender are the client. Your property lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the lender can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your conveyancer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
I own a freehold house in East Dulwich but still pay rent, why is this and what is this?
It’s unusual for properties in East Dulwich and has limited impact for conveyancing in East Dulwich but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back hundreds of years, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the establishment of fresh rentcharges post 1977.
Previous rentcharges can now be redeemed by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 is to be extinguished.
My house in East Dulwich is up for sale and I have a buyer. Will my lawyer need to be required to be on the Lloyds conveyancing panel in order to deal with the discharge of my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Lloyds 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 currently.
Do I select a Licenced Conveyancer or Solicitor for conveyancing in East Dulwich?
There are many recorded licenced Conveyancers in East Dulwich and Solicitor firms in East Dulwich who provide Conveyancing services We would stress that the two are supervised by regulatory bodies with both specialising in the legal aspects of the home buying process. The two can handle other property legal work such as remortgage conveyancing, enfranchisement and transfer of equity conveyancing.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in East Dulwich. I have a mortgage agreed with Clydesdale. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Clydesdale, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel.
I had an offer accepted on a house in East Dulwich on 20/5/2020, valuation was booked 2 days later, received a clean bill of health. Solicitor appointed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Nottingham and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Nottingham to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Nottingham conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Should my solicitor be asking questions concerning flooding during the conveyancing in East Dulwich.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers conducting conveyancing in East Dulwich. There are those who buy a house in East Dulwich, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or dispose of the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Conveyancers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a number of checks that can be carried out by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which should give them a better understanding of the risks in East Dulwich. The conventional set of property information forms sent to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) includes a standard question of the seller to discover if the property has suffered from flooding. In the event that the residence has been flooded in past and is not notified by the seller, then a buyer may issue a legal claim for losses as a result of such an misleading answer. A buyer’s solicitors may also commission an environmental search. This should disclose if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries should be made.
I am looking for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one near me in East Dulwich I like with open areas and transport links nearby, however it only has 49 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in East Dulwich for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
If you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be an issue. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least twenty four months you could request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.