Me and my partner are purchasing a 1 bedroom apartment in Kendal with a mortgage. We have a Kendal solicitor, but the bank says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel firms or keep our Kendal property lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to represent them. We feel that this is unjust; can we not insist that the lender use our Kendal conveyancing practitioner ?
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 Kendal conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
What does a local search reveal regarding the property I am buying in Kendal?
Kendal conveyancing often starts with the ordering local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search organisations such as PSG The local search plays an important role in most Kendal conveyancing purchase; that is if you don’t want any nasty surprises after you move into your property. The search will supply information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 topic headings.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our property are lost. The lawyers who did the conveyancing in Kendal 4 years ago are no longer around. What do I do?
You no longer need to have the physical original deeds to prove you are the registered proprietor of land or property, given that the Land Registry have everything they need in a digital format.
I decided to have a survey done on a house in Kendal in advance of retaining lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. The surveyor has said that some banks tend refuse to issue a mortgage on such a premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different instructions for example to Halifax. Should you wish to call us we can investigate further via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Kendal. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
Last August I purchased a leasehold flat in Kendal. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I inherited a split level flat in Kendal, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2011. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar properties in Kendal with over 90 years remaining are worth £197,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2077
With only 55 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £31,400 and £36,200 plus professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.
I purchased a house in Kendal last 13/11/2020 and to date it is still not registered with HMLR. It is part of a new estate and my property lawyer told me that it may take twelve months to complete the registration formalities. I have spoken with the Land Registry directly and they say that the initial application was cancelled due to questions not being addressed in time. Do I need to be concerned?
get in touch with your lawyer - Where you are unsatisfied with the responses, look up their firm’s complaints process and amplify your problem to a Complaints Manager. Registrations for Kendal conveyancing are not known to be especially complex.