My fiance and I are hoping to buy a property in Elephant and Castle and have appointed a Elephant and Castle conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Alliance & Leicester have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Elephant and Castle solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. 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 property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Elephant and Castle solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
We're in Elephant and Castle, First time buyers purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Coventry BS , and our lawyer is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no lawyer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
I have been told that property searches are the main reason for hinderance in Elephant and Castle house deals. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published determinations of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the common causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are unlikely to be the root cause of holding up conveyancing in Elephant and Castle.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Elephant and Castle?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Elephant and Castle. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
I'm remortgaging my primary property to a buy to let loan with Birmingham Midshires and I will use the rest of the raised equity towards further property. The area we are looking at is Elephant and Castle. Will your conveyancers be able to act for both sets of lenders and tie in the two deals?
Do use our search tool on this page to be sure that the lawyers are approved by both lenders. On the basis that they are the solicitor will be able to tie up the two conveyancing matters but you should talk with you conveyancer and communicate your desired outcome and needs.
I’m about to sell my garden flat in Elephant and Castle. Conveyancing has not commenced, however I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?
The sensible thing to do is discharge the invoice as usual given that all ground rent and service charges should be allotted as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.
I am the leaseholder of a first floor flat in Elephant and Castle. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium due for a lease extension?
Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Elephant and Castle conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Elephant and Castle residence is Ground Floor Flat 39 Bronsart Road in May 2010. Following a vesting order by West London County Court the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal concluded that the price to be paid for the extended lease of the premises was Thirteen Thousand Two hundred pounds (£13,200) in accordance with the valuation. The extended lease was granted for a term of 90 years from the expiry date of the Lease and at a peppercorn ground rent from the date of the vesting order. This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 74.77 years.