My wife and I are approaching an exchange on a house in East Finchley and my parents have transferred the 10% deposit to my property lawyer. I am now advised that as the deposit has been sent from someone other than me my property lawyer 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 coming from anyone other than me. I informed the mortgage company about my parents' contribution when I applied for the home loan, so is it really appropriate for this now to hold matters up?
Your solicitor is duty bound to clarify with mortgage company to make sure that they know that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own resources. The solicitor can only notify this to your lender if you permit them to, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in East Finchley off the council. I have a mortgage offer with Bank of Ireland. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use 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 Bank of Ireland, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel.
Having digested plenty of house buying guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local East Finchley solicitor - who is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Yorkshire BS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Yorkshire BS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own East Finchley surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
After what feels like an age I have had an offer on a flat in East Finchley accepted, but there is a chain. The vendors have offered on a property, however it’s not yet agreed to, and have viewings of other apartments in the pipeline. I have chosen a high street conveyancing solicitor in East Finchley. What should be my next step? At what point should I apply for the mortgage with Principality?
It is normal to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses too early (mortgage application is in the region of one thousand pounds, then survey, East Finchley conveyancing search costs, etc). First, you must check that your property lawyer is on the Principality approved list. Concerning the subsequent phase this very much dictated by the circumstances of your transaction, attraction to this property and on the state of the market. During a buoyant market the majority of buyers will apply for a home loan with Principality and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they ask their conveyancing practitioner to proceed with searches.
I decided to have a survey completed on a house in East Finchley in advance of retaining lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the property. The surveyor has said that some lenders tend refuse to give a mortgage on a flying freehold home.
It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different instructions from Nationwide. If you call us we can check with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in East Finchley. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in East Finchley to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
How can the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 affect my commercial premises in East Finchley and how can you help?
The 1954 Act affords a safeguard to commercial leaseholders, granting the a statutory right to make a request to court for a new lease and remain in occupation when the lease reaches an end. There are limited grounds that a landlord can refrain from granting a lease renewal and the rules are involved. We are happy to direct you to commercial conveyancing firms who use the act for protection and help with commercial conveyancing in East Finchley
Notwithstanding our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in East Finchley. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
Where there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the premium.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a East Finchley flat is Ground Floor 110 Station Road in June 2013. The Tribunal found that the premium payable for a lease extension should be £31,665. This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 56.65 years.
What are the frequently found problems that you see in leases for East Finchley properties?
There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in East Finchley. All leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:
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A duty to insure the building Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
You will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Coventry Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed 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 grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.
I am in the process of purchasing my 1st home in East Finchley. Conveyancing solicitor has been appointed. The broker pointed out that a survey is not appropriate as the property was only built twenty two years ago.
At the very least you should have a Home Buyer's Report. As the premises was built over a decade ago the property will be without a warranty, so you would be well advised not to take a risk. Where a property of this age shows no signs of problems a Home Buyer's report may suffice. The report should highlight any apparent problems and suggest additional investigation where appropriate. If there are any indications of problems get a comprehensive structural survey.