We are buying a 1 bedroom flat in Hull with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Hull lawyer, however the bank says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel solicitors or retain our Hull property lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. This feels very unfair; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Hull conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
The Hull conveyancing lawyers that just started acting on my house acquisition in Hull have suddenly shut down. I chose them because I needed a solicitor on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel and my previous Hull lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take £195 for searches. What should be my next steps?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them immediately so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers should be in a position to help.
Me and my partner are buying a property in Hull. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a lawyer? At some point we will need to send money into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our monies?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Hull. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Skipton have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
Given that your lender is Skipton your lawyer must follow the formal instructions outlined in Part two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Skipton. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook stipulates minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and solicitors are required to report to Skipton where a lease fails to comply with these provisions. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not isolated to Hull.
I am due to exchange contracts on my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in February 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Kent Reliance are being pedantic. The Hull solicitor who is on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but Kent Reliance are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Kent Reliance have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Kent Reliance have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Kent Reliance may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
About to purchase a new build apartment in Hull. Conveyancing is daunting 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 are examples of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Hull
-
Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents.
I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Hull where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Hull conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 purchaser.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Hull - Examples of Queries before buying
-
Who are the managing agents? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? For many Hull leaseholds the cost for major works are not built into the service charges, although some managing agents in Hull ask leasehold owners to contribute towards a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major works.
I have just appointed agents to market my basement apartment in Hull.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed however I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?
Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the service charge as normal given that all ground rent and service charges will be allottedon completion, so you will be reimbursed by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process