I am one month into the sale of my maisonette in Keston and the EA has just e-mailed to warn that the buyers are swapping solicitor. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major lender only work with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Keston ?
Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in the last few years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for decades.
Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
I am buying a property mortgage free in Keston. I have resided for the previous Seventeen years in Keston. Conveyancing searches are exorbitant. Given that I have knowledge of the road and vicinity intimately must I have all the conveyancing searches?
If you not getting a mortgage, then the vast majority of the Keston conveyancing searches are at your discretion. Your lawyer will 'advise', no-doubt strongly, that you should have searches done, but she has a professional duty to do this. One thing to take into account; if you are going to sell the house one day, it will likely be be of importance to your prospective buyer what the searches disclose. On occasion premises with functional issues can still show up adverse search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in Keston will be able to give you some helpful advice in this regard.
As someone with no idea as to conveyancing in Keston what is your top tip you can impart concerning the ownership transfer in Keston
Not many law firms shout this from the rooftops but conveyancing in Keston and elsewhere in Kent is an adversarial experience. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there exists an abundance of opportunity for conflict between you and others involved in the house moving process. E.g., the seller, selling agent and sometimes your lender. Choosing a solicitor for your conveyancing in Keston an important selection as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE party in the legal process whose interest is to act in your best interests and to keep you safe.
We are witnessing a definite emergence in the "blame" culture- someone has to be at fault for the process taking so long. You must always trust your conveyancer above the other players when it comes to the legal assignment of property.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my home are lost. The solicitors who did the conveyancing in Keston 4 years ago are no longer around. What are my options?
As long as the title is registered the information relating to your proprietorship will be held by the Land Registry with a Title Number. It is easy to carry out a search at the Land Registry, identify your house and secure up to date copies of the property title for a small fee. If the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally retain a certified copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for twenty pounds.
How simple is it to use your search tool to get a costs illustration from a conveyancing solicitor in Keston on the panel for my mortgage?
Step one is to choose a lender such as HSBC Bank, The Mortgage Works or TSB then specify your location for instance Keston. Conveyancing practices in Keston and across England and Wales should be listed.
Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Keston with the intention of expediting the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Keston can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors. You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale. Some Keston leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy formality and delays many a Keston home move. If a reissued share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible. If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
Following years of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Keston. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
Where there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute 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 amount due.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Keston premises is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 50.57 years.