My partner and I are looking to purchase a property in Keston and have instructed a Keston conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Chelsea Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Keston lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for 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 solicitor 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 solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Keston lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
Why do I have to pay up front for conveyancing in Keston?
Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in Keston your solicitor will ask you place them with funds to cover the search fees. Ordinarily this is called for to cover the fees of the Local Authority Search. When the down payment is payable against the purchase price then this should be asked for shortly ahead of exchange of contracts. Any further balance that is due should be sent to your lawyer shortly before completion.
Me and my partner are buying a house in Keston. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a solicitor? On completion day we have to put our life savings into their account. What protection do 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.
I am buying a end of terrace house in Keston. The intention is to carry out a loft conversion at the house.Will legal work on the property include enquiries to see if these works are permitted?
Your conveyancer should review the deeds as conveyancing in Keston will occasionally identify restrictions in the title deeds which restrict categories of changes or require the consent of a 3rd party. Some additions need local authority planning permissions and approval in compliance with building regulations. Certain locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which frequently prevent or impact extensions. You should check these things with a surveyor before you commit yourself to a purchase.
Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Keston. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I would like to complain about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Department at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.
I'm buying my first flat in Keston with a loan from Virgin Money. The developers refused to move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent advised me not to tell my lawyer about this deal as it may jeopardize my loan with Virgin Money. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Keston is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Keston are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Keston you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Keston may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.
I have given up trying to purchase the freehold in Keston. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Keston conveyancing firm who can help.
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 affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 50.57 years.
When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Keston what are the most frequent lease problems?
There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Keston. Most leases are drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:
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Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts. Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall
A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Bank of Scotland, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.