My partner and I are hoping to acquire a flat in Eastcote and have instructed a Eastcote conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. TSB have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Eastcote conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Eastcote lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
We are soon to exchange buying a house in Eastcote but as a consequence of wreckage from some water damage at the property I have was able negotiate recompense from the owner in the sum of £3k in the form of a adjustment in the price. This was going to be addressed as part of a side agreement but Kent Reliance will not agree to this. Should they have been involved?
The property lawyer being on a Kent Reliance approved list is obliged to advise Kent Reliance of any amendments to the purchase price. If you prohibit your solicitor to notify the reduction to Kent Reliance then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Kent Reliance and you would have to appoint a new property lawyer for your conveyancing in Eastcote.
Do conveyancers ask for money on account when it comes to conveyancing in Eastcote?
If you are buying a property in Eastcote your lawyer will request that you to provide them with funds to cover the search fees. Generally this is needed to cover the fees of the Local Authority Search. If any deposit is payable against the total price then this should be needed immediately in advance of contracts are exchanged. The final balance that is needed should be transferred a couple of days prior to the completion date.
I own a semi-detached Edwardian property in Eastcote. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and National Westminster Bank. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You should assess 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 owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Eastcote and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and found one close by in Eastcote I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, however it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Eastcote in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will be an issue. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.
How does the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 affect my commercial offices in Eastcote and how can you help?
The 1954 Act gives protection to business lessees, granting the dueness to make a request to court for a continuation of occupancy when the lease reaches an end. There are certain specified grounds that a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are complex. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Eastcote is one of the hundreds of areas of the UK in which our lawyers have offices