I am progressing with the sale of my flat in Frizington and the EA has just text me to say that the buyers are switching conveyancer. The reason given is that the lender will only engage with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a big named mortgage company only deal with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Frizington ?
Banks have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in recent years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.
Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – 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. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
I am in a contract race with another prospective purchaser for a property in Frizington. What can be done to accelerate the conveyancing process?
First, If the seller is applying a tight deadline to complete it is advisable to make sure that your lawyer is familiar with the area as they will make use of local connections and insight. It is even conceivable that they could have transacted previoushomes in the same neighbourhood. Therefore consider using a Frizington conveyancing solicitor. In addition, be sure that the lawyer is on the lender panel. It is said that nearly one in five of Frizington conveyancing deals are held up or jeopardised after finding out that a purchaser’s solicitor was not on their mortgage lender’s panel. In many cases this discovery resulted in the home move being held up by an average of three weeks. It is claimed that this issue affects in the region of one hundred thousand home sales annually. Almost all Frizington conveyancing practices can not act for certain lenders so do check as early as possible.
It is a dozen years since I bought my property in Frizington. Conveyancing lawyers have now been appointed on the sale but I can't locate the title documents. Is this a major issue?
Don’t worry too much. First there is a chance that the deeds will be with your mortgage company or they could stored with the lawyers who handled the purchase. Secondly the chances are that the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors procuring current official copies of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Frizington involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is unregistered it is more tricky but is not insurmountable.
Me and my brother own a semi-detached Edwardian house in Frizington. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Santander. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the matching property. Is it worth asking Santander to clarify?
You need to review 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 Frizington and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also check the position with the conveyancing lawyer who conducted the conveyancing.
I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Frizington where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Frizington conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as 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 buyer.
Frizington Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before buying
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How much is the ground rent and service charge? It would be prudent to find out as much as possible concerning the managing agents as they can either make your living at the property much simpler or uncomfortable. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical issues such as the cleanliness of the common parts. You should not be afraid to ask other people what they think of their management. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the appropriate party and precisely what it includes. Best to be warned whether a new roof is being installed or some other significant cost is due shortly to be shared amongst the leaseholders and may well dramatically impact the level of the service fees or require a specific invoice.
How and when do I incur stamp duty chargeable for my purchase in Frizington?
The lawyer should fill out a stamp duty return for you as part of your Frizington conveyancing transaction for signature. On completion your conveyancer will submit the Land Transaction Return Form to the Inland Revenue and - as long as they have the money - pay any land tax due on your behalf.