My fiance and I are looking to acquire a flat in Kings Norton and have appointed a Kings Norton conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Platform Home Loans Ltd have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Kings Norton solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the purchaser's lender. 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 Quality 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 solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Kings Norton lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Kings Norton. I have a mortgage offer with Yorkshire BS. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Yorkshire BS, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel.
The mortgage over my property is with Leeds Building Society for my property in Kings Norton. Conveyancing was finalised a year ago. Should I wish to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Leeds Building Society?
You must advise Leeds Building Society before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Leeds Building Society’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Leeds Building Society directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel lawyer.
Kent Reliance have agreed my home loan in principle, my bid on a house in Kings Norton has been accepted, what happens next?
The estate agent will want to know who your solicitors are (be sure the property lawyers are on the bank’s panel). Telephone Kent Reliance or your broker and finalise any appropriate paperwork. Kent Reliance will sellect a valuer who will get in contact with the selling agent or seller to book an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes about a week for the mortgage offer to be issued. Kent Reliance will issue the offer to you and your solicitors. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Kings Norton.
I'm purchasing my first flat in Kings Norton benefiting from help to buy. The developers would not move on the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The sale representative suggested that I not to tell my conveyancer about this extras as it could jeopardize my loan with the bank. 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.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £305k and found one near me in Kings Norton I like with open areas and station in the vicinity, however it only has 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Kings Norton for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage that many years will likely be an issue. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.
I am a sole trader hoping to lease a unit on a shopping parade. Can you recommend conveyancers offering fixed charges for non-domestic conveyancing in Kings Norton for less than £2000?
We are happy to recommend firms who host a wealth of experience of commercial conveyancing in Kings Norton, including the disposal and purchase of businesses as well as simply property. If you are looking to buy or lease a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail premises or a complete business we will find you the right lawyer. As for the fees these will vary based on the structure and complexity of the proposed transaction. Please provide us with your contact information or call so as to enable us to supply you with a detailed commercial conveyancing calculation.
What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Kings Norton conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Kings Norton conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggest that you talk with several firms including non Kings Norton conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions could be helpful:
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If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason? How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
Kings Norton Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing
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Is there a share of the freehold? Generally speaking the cost for major works tend not to be built into the maintenance charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Kings Norton ask tenants to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific intention of establishing a fund for larger repairs or maintenance. The best form of lease arrangement is where the freehold title is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this scenario the lessees have being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is usually retained where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.