My partner and I are buying a newly constructed duplex in East Ham and my conveyancer is informing me that she has to the mortgage company to disclose incentives from the developer. I am under pressure to sign contracts and I don't want to delay deal. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancer. A precondition to being on a lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
My wife and I are purchasing a apartment in East Ham. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? On the day of competition we have to put money into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our money?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
Is it correct that all East Ham CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Lloyds conveyancing panel?
It is true that some banks and building societies now make use of the accreditation scheme as the kick off point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to remain on their panels.
I have instructed a East Ham conveyancing practitioner having checked that they are on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Lloyds will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Lloyds 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 Ham 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.
My wife and I purchased a renovated Edwardian property in East Ham. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Virgin Money. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same address. Is it worth asking Virgin Money to clarify?
You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in East Ham and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also check the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who carried out the work.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £245,000 and found one near me in East Ham I like with a park and railway links nearby, however it's only got 61 years on the lease. There is not much else in East Ham for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
Should you need a home loan the shortness of the lease may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you may request that they 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 consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.
My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in East Ham. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in East Ham who previously acted has long since retired. Any advice?
First contact HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a East Ham conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
I own a garden flat in East Ham. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount payable for a lease extension?
Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a East Ham conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a East Ham residence is 46 Credon Road in January 2014. On 11 September 2013 Deputy District Judge Price sitting at the Bow County Court made a vesting order that the freeholder surrender his lease and be granted a new lease of the Premises on such terms as may be determined by the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).The appropriate sum as concluded by the Tribunal was £7225 This case related to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 69.77 years.
My son is embarking on her first house purchase, the home loan was agreed last week in principle. After the seller agreed the offer on the flat we called the lender to go forward with his. I was very surprised to learn that mortgage lenders do not accept all conveyancer, they need to be on their approved list, is this correct?
Lenders tend to imposes restrictions either the type or the number of conveyancing firms on their panel. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that lenders have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any East Ham property lawyer on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Probably not.
