I am one month into the sale of my ground floor flat in Kingsbridge and the estate agent has just telephoned to warn that the purchasers are appointing a new solicitor. The excuse is that the bank will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named mortgage company only engage with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Kingsbridge ?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for many years.
Banks attribute this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to reveal 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 are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
We have rather pushy vendors who has suggested a preliminary contract with a payment of 5k. Are such agreements sensible?
Exclusivity agreements are contracts between a home owner and purchaser granting the buyer the sole right to purchase the property within a prescribed time frame. For all intents and purposes, an exclusivity is a document stating that you will have a contract at a later date being the main conveyancing contract. It is generally utilised for buyer protection though in some cases, the vendor may enjoy an upside from such agreements as well. There are many pros and cons to using them but you should to check with your solicitor but note that it may result in costing you more in conveyancing charges. In light of this these contracts are avoided when it comes to conveyancing in Kingsbridge.
We see that you have a search directory listing solicitors on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a commission if I instruct them for our conveyancing in Kingsbridge?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Lloyds conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Kingsbridge.
I purchased a renovated Victorian property in Kingsbridge. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Leeds Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the matching address. Is it worth asking Leeds Building Society to clarify?
You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Kingsbridge and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also enquire as to the situation with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the conveyancing.
Just had an offer accepted on a new build apartment in Kingsbridge. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.
Set out below is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Kingsbridge
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There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Please confirm the Lease plans are architect prepared. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified.
I work for a long established estate agent office in Kingsbridge where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Kingsbridge conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process 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 buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.
Kingsbridge Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying
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Is there a share of the freehold? Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments? It is important to be aware if fixing the lift or some other major work is pending to be shared between the leasehold owners and could well dramatically increase the the service charges or necessitate a specific payment.