I am selling my house in East Sheen and the EA has just telephoned to advise that the purchasers are swapping property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named mortgage company only engage with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in East Sheen ?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for decades.
Banks justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The buyers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
Our East Sheen lawyer has discovered a discrepancy between the information in the valuation survey and what is in the title deeds. My lawyer has advised that he must ensure that the lender is OK with this discrepancy and is content to go ahead. Is my conveyancer’s stance right?
Your conveyancer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for both parties.
It is a dozen years since I acquired my house in East Sheen. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been retained on the sale but I can't track down the title documents. Will this jeopardise the sale?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly the deeds may be kept by your lender or they may still be with the lawyers who oversaw the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers procuring up to date copy of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in East Sheen relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it is more problematic but is not insurmountable.
I have been recommended by a few estate agents in East Sheen to locate a conveyancer using your seach tool. Is there a financial incentive for Estate Agents to offer your services over and above alternative conveyancing organisations?
We refuse to offer any referral fee for directing people to this site. We found it would be just too difficult to pay a commission because members of the public would think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
In scouring the world wide web for the phrase on line conveyancing in East Sheen it brings up numerous solicitorsin the area. How do I determine which is the suitable property lawyer for purchase transaction?
The ideal method of finding a suitable conveyancer is via trusted referral, so ask colleagues and family who have bought a property in East Sheen or the respected estate agent or financial adviser. Charges for conveyancing in East Sheen vary, so it's advisable to obtain a minimum of three fee estimates from varying types of companies. Make sure that you clarify that the fees are fixed.
I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in East Sheen where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local East Sheen conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
Having spent years of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in East Sheen. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the price payable.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a East Sheen flat is 19 St. Margarets Crescent in August 2010. the tribunal was of the view that the premium to be paid by the leaseholder for the freehold reversion was £51,983.00 This case was in relation to 3 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 66.25 years.