My fiance and I are planning to purchase a home in Hounslow and are in fact using a Hounslow conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Halifax have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Hounslow lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. 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 property lawyer should contact your lender 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Hounslow solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Some advice if I may. My Hounslow solicitor is advising me that he is legally obliged toapply for Hounslow conveyancing searches resulting from the fact thatthe firm are on the HSBCconveyancing panel. Is this really necessary?
Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. Given that you are taking out a loan with a mortgage company your lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your conveyancer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your lender’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook provisions . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Hounslow conveyancing searches.
4 months have gone by since my purchase conveyancing in Hounslow concluded. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the property from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Hounslow. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.
Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Hounslow
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Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. The Vendor must covenant to keep unoccupied units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Please supply a car parking plan. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease.
Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Hounslow. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.
If the lease is registered - and most are in Hounslow - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can one apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Hounslow conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?
Where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the amount due.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Hounslow premises is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 60.45 years.
Why can't I complete our conveyancing in Hounslow on Good Friday?
This is due to the fact that on completion the money needs to be transferred electronically between the banks of the purchaser and seller's conveyancing practitioner and currently this can only occur on a working day. So you can't complete on a saturday or sunday either.