Is the fact that my conveyancer in Fulham is not identified on my lender's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the standard of her conveyancing?
That would more than likely be an incorrect assumption to make. There are plenty of reasonable explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated that over three quarters of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the solicitor is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. If you are concerned you should contact the Fulham conveyancing firm and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.
My grandmother passed away last year and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Fulham. The house had a relatively small loan left on it of around £5k. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Clydesdale, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?
Where you plan to refinance then Clydesdale will require that you use a conveyancer on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Clydesdale conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Clydesdale mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
I am assisting my step-mother sell her house in Fulham. Will the conveyancer arrange the EPC or do I organise this?
After the demise of HIPs, energy performance certificates became a mandatory part of selling a house. An energy assessment must be commissioned before the property is advertised. It is not as aspect of the sale process that conveyancers normally organise. If you are using a Fulham conveyancing solicitor they may be willing to arrange EPC’s given their relationships with long established local energy assessors
We are buying a terrace house in Fulham. We would like to an extension at the rear at the house.Will the conveyancing process include enquiries to determine if these alterations are prohibited?
Your property lawyer should review the deeds as conveyancing in Fulham will sometimes identify restrictions in the title documents which restrict certain alterations or require the consent of a 3rd party. Some additions call for local authority planning consent and approval in compliance with building regulations. Some areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which frequently prevent or affect extensions. You should check these issues with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.
When it comes to lenders such as Aldermore, do Fulham property lawyers face an annual charge to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are unaware of any bank fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
Just had an offer accepted on a new build flat in Fulham. 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 conveyancing.
Here are examples of a few leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Fulham
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Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? 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. 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. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and identified one near me in Fulham I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, however it only has 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Fulham in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
If you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will be an issue. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign 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 lawyer concerning this matter.
We are in the midst of a leasehold sale of a flat in Fulham. Conveyancing lawyers are doing their job but we have been asked to pay a fortune from the managing agents. So far we have forked out £275 for a leasehold management pack and then a further £117.20 for additional queries supplied by the purchaser's conveyancer.
You will not have any say over the extent of the charges for this information however the average costs for the information for Fulham leasehold property is £360. For Fulham conveyancing sales it is conventional for the owner to cover the charges. The landlord or their agents are not duty bound to address such questions although many will be content to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices out of proportion to the work involved. Regretfully there is no statute that mandates set fees for administrative tasks. There is no prescriptive time frame by which they are obliged to supply the information.