Having been referred to your organisation we were about to go ahead with a conveyancing solicitor in Fulham endorsed by you but stumbled across some other estimates on the internet look cheaper – why is this?
There are many firms of solicitors advertising what appear to be extremely cheap conveyancing in Fulham. We suggest that you think twice as to how important this transaction is to you that you are willing to be penny wise pound foolish with regard to the standard of the legal work. Some embed fees deep into the terms of engagement. The conveyancers that we put forward for conveyancing in Fulham will notbehave this way.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as HSBC, do Fulham conveyancing practitioners face an annual charge to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are unaware of any bank fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
We had selected conveyancers locally in Fulham on the Leeds Building Society solicitor panel. They are now charging me a further charge for dealing with the Leeds Building Society mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set by Leeds Building Society?
Provided it is contained in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your conveyancer is entitled to charge a fee for this. This fee is not dictated by Leeds Building Society but by your Fulham conveyancer. Numerous firms on the Leeds Building Society panel will levy an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
I have instructed a Fulham solicitor having made sure that they are on the Skipton conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Skipton will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Skipton will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Fulham postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Skipton, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Fulham.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Fulham?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Fulham. 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 buying a new build house in Fulham benefiting from help to buy. The developers refused to reduce the price so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The property agent told me not to tell my lawyer about this extras as it would adversely affect my mortgage with HSBC Bank. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I decided to have a survey completed on a property in Fulham ahead of instructing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the house. Our surveyor advised that some lenders will refuse to grant a mortgage on such a house.
It varies from the lender to lender. Santander has different instructions from Halifax. If you e-mail us we can look into this further via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Fulham. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Fulham to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Fulham from the point of view of expediting the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Fulham can be reduced if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers’ lawyers. If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing. If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Fulham home move. If a reissued share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible. A minority of Fulham leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors. If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Fulham leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you fail to have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer in advance.
Having spent years of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Fulham. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
if there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to arrive at the price.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Fulham flat is 66 and 66a Wardo Avenue in November 2012. The Tribunal determined that the sum of £8,048 is payable by the Applicants in respect of the price for the freehold of the property This case related to 2 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 93 years and 162 years.