I had intended to instruct a property lawyer in East London for our house purchase. Our broker has since notified us that our bank Lloyds TSB Bank won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unfair competition?
Lenders normally restrict either the type or the amount of conveyancing solicitors on their approved list of lawyers. Typical examples of such criteria being that a law practice must not be a sole practitioner. As well as restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the amount of solicitor practices they allow to act for them. You should note that Lloyds TSB Bank have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Lloyds TSB Bank Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the reduction of conveyancing panels a few years ago even though there are mixed views regarding the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Data from the Land Registry reveal that hundreds of law firms, including some in or near East London only carry out very few conveyances a year.
Do I select a Licenced Conveyancer or Solicitor for conveyancing in East London?
There are many recorded licenced Conveyancers in East London and Solicitor partnerships in East London who can help with your conveyancing It is important to make clear that both are regulated professionals specialising in the legal aspects of transferring property. They may both also handle associated property related work such as remortgage conveyancing, lease extensions and transfer of equity conveyancing.
Having digested plenty of mortgage guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local East London solicitor - who is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Nottingham will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Nottingham 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. Your conveyancing practitioner will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your East London postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Nottingham, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in East London.
Nottingham have agreed my home loan in principle, my bid on a house in East London has been accepted, what happens next?
Your estate agent will need to be advised as to your conveyancing practitioner's details (ensure that the conveyancers are on the lender’s panel). Contact Nottingham or your broker and finish off any relevant forms. Nottingham will sellect a valuer who will get in contact with the estate agent or vendor to book an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes about ten days for the mortgage offer to be issued. Nottingham will send the offer to you and your solicitors. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in East London.
I have justbecome aware that Stirling Law have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in East London for a purchase of a leasehold flat 12 months ago. How can I be sure that the property is registered correctly in the name of the former proprietor?
The quickest way to check if the property 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 London conveyancing specialists.
We are 14 days into a leasehold purchase having been recommend to conveyancers by the local agent to perform conveyancing in East London. I am am very disappointed with the quality of service. Can you you assist me in finding new lawyers?
A lawyer would need to be very bad to suggest diss instructing them. Has the loan offer been issued? In the event that it has you need to advise them of the replacement solicitor and have the loan are re-sent. Your solicitor ideally needs to be on the lenders approved list to avoid escalating charges and delays. So that should be your starting point. Our search tool will help you find a lender approved lawyer for your home move in East London
Last February I purchased a leasehold property in East London. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I am the proprietor of a basement flat in East London. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum payable for the purchase of the freehold?
Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a East London conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a East London property is 20 Avonwick Road in July 2013. The Tribunal was dealing with an application under Section 26 of the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 for a determination of the freehold value of the property. It was concluded that the price to be paid was Fifteen Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy (£15,970) divided as to £8,200 for Flat 20 and £7,770 for Flat 20A This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 73.26 years.
My conveyancer in East London is asking me for proof of ID documents stating that this forms part of his requirements as a solicitor on the bank Conveyancing panel. This is news to me - can I refuse?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require East London conveyancing solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the identity of the person or body they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing business. The Client Care letter that you need to sign will no doubt confirm this. Your lawyer is right that the lender also require certain documents to be viewed. If a you refuse to provide ID verification documents, your conveyancer would not be able to accept instructions from you. Your lawyer also has obligations to obtain certain documents in accordance with the mortgage company's UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements
