We are purchasing a 1 bedroom apartment in East Ham with a mortgage. We like our East Ham solicitor, but the bank says he's not on their "panel". It seems we have no option but to instruct one of the mortgage company panel conveyancing practices or continue with our East Ham conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. This seems very unfair; can we not demand that the mortgage company use our East Ham conveyancer ?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your East Ham conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
The owners of the home we are purchasing hired a conveyancing solicitor in East Ham who has suggested a lock out agreement with a deposit of 5k. Is it wise to enter into such agreements?
There are a couple of main downsides with executing a lock out agreement (also termed a no-shop agreement) is that it diverts attention away from moving forward with the conveyancing transaction itself, so unless it requires minimal or no negotiation then it could transpire to be unhelpful. It is not strongly advocated amongst East Ham conveyancing lawyers for this reason. A further negative is the extent of the remedies available - a jilted buyer is extremely unlikely to obtain an injunctive ruling by a court to bar the seller selling to an alternative purchaser, so the only remedy available under the agreement will be the recovery of wasted costs and, in limited scenarios, the additional payment of damages.
I have todaybeen informed that Wolstenholmes have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in East Ham for a purchase of a freehold house 18 months ago. How can I check that my home is in my name in the name of the previous owner?
The easiest way to check if the premises is registered to you, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of East Ham conveyancing specialists.
How does conveyancing in East Ham differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in East Ham contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is ready to move into. This is because builders in East Ham tend to purchase 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in East Ham or who has acted in the same development.
Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor apartment in East Ham. Conveyancing has not commenced, however I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?
The sensible thing to do is discharge the service charge as usual because all rents and service charges will be allotted on completion, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
I am the proprietor of a garden flat in East Ham. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount due for the purchase of the freehold?
Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a East Ham conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension decision 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 affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 69.77 years.
I am an executor of my recently deceased parent's Will, with a house in East Ham which will be sold. The property is unregistered at the Land Registry and I'm told that some buyers solicitors will insist that it is completed before they will move forward. What's the procedure for this?
In the circumstances that you have set out it seems prudent to seek to register in the names of the personal representative(s) as named in the probate and in their capacity as PRs. HMLR’s online guidance explains how to register for the first time and what is required re the deeds and forms. You would need to include and official copy of the probate as well and complete the form FR1 to refer to the PRs as the applicant.