I am acquiring a maisonette in Erdington. My lawyer is not on the lender approved list. Is it possible for me to use my Erdington conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the bank list of approved lawyers?
Various options include
- Carry on with your existing Erdington solicitor but your lender will need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner from their approved list. The net result is additional fees together with likely interruption.
- Appoint a new solicitor to conduct the conveyancing, obviously checking they are on the mortgage company conveyancing panel.
- Convince your conveyancer to attempt to join the mortgage company panel
Our Erdington solicitor has spotted an inconsistency between the information in the home valuation survey and what is revealed within the title deeds. My solicitor has advised that he needs to ensure that the bank is OK with this discrepancy and is still content to lend. Is my conveyancer’s course or action correct?
Your conveyancing practitioner 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.
What does a local search tell me concerning the property we're purchasing in Erdington?
Erdington conveyancing often starts with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search company for example PSG The local search is essential in every Erdington conveyancing purchase; that is if you don’t want any nasty surprises after you move into your new home. The search should supply data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen subject sections.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and identified one near me in Erdington I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it's only got 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Erdington in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage that many years may be an issue. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Erdington where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Erdington conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
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.
I acquired a leasehold flat in Erdington, conveyancing having been completed 3 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Erdington with over 90 years remaining are worth £222,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease ceases on 21st October 2096
With 70 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 plus professional fees.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.
My son is about to join the property ladder, he had his mortgage in principle. One the offer was accepted on flat we rang the bank to move forward with his. I was disappointed to learn that mortgage companies do not accept all conveyancer, they must be on their panel, is this right?
Lenders normally restrict either the type or the number of conveyancing firms on their approved list of lawyers. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that banks have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Erdington property lawyer on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Probably not.