My wife and I are planning to buy a home in Erdington and are in fact using a Erdington conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. The Royal Bank of Scotland have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Erdington lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your bank 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Erdington lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
It is is a decade since I bought my property in Erdington. Conveyancing lawyers have now been retained on the sale but I can't locate the title documents. Will this jeopardise the sale?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly the deeds may be retained by your lender or they could be in the possession of the conveyancers who handled the purchase. Secondly in all probability the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors procuring up to date copy of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Erdington involves registered property but in the rare situation where your property is unregistered it is more tricky but is not insurmountable.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Erdington. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.
Set out below is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Erdington
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The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants.
In what way can the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 impact my business property in Erdington and how can you help?
The 1954 Act provides a safeguard to business lessees, giving them the a statutory right to make a request to court for a renewal lease and remain in occupation at the end of an expired lease. There are certain specified grounds where a landlord can refrain from granting a lease renewal and the rules are involved. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Erdington is one of our hundreds of locations in which our lawyers are based
In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Erdington what are the most frequent lease problems?
Leasehold conveyancing in Erdington is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:
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Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, The Mortgage Works, and Britannia all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.
I invested in buying a garden flat in Erdington, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2012. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Erdington with an extended lease are worth £195,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2089
With 63 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £16,200 and £18,600 as well as legals.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.
Our financial adviser has suggested using their conveyancer for the conveyancing in Erdington - won’t it be easier to just use them?
This is not necessarily the case and you are entitled to instruct whichever conveyancing practitioner of your choosing for your Erdington conveyancing. A property lawyer suggested by an estate agent may not always be the right solicitor, they may suggest their preferred conveyancing firm who are based remotely. In this instance you may not have contact with your conveyancer and due to the lack of continuity in the transaction, it may be difficult to obtain progress reports.