I am obtaining a offer of a home loan from Santander. I would like to instruct a Licensed Conveyancer in Lavenham. Does the Santander Solicitor panel include conveyancers regulated by the CLC?
The Santander conveyancing panel is, like many other lenders, associated to the Council or Mortgage Lenders or BSA, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
My conveyancer has uncovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the flat we are buying in Lavenham. The other side have suggested title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our conveyancer says that he must ensure that the bank is content with this solution. Are we the client or is the bank?
Regardless of the fact that you have a mortgage offer from the bank does not mean to say that the property will meet their conditions for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. You and the lender are the client. These conveyancing instructions have to be complied with.
Completed the sale of my flat in Lavenham last May yet the purchaser is calling me complaining that their lawyer needs to hear from mine. What should my lawyer have done following completion?
After completion of your disposal your conveyancer should forward the transfer documentation and all supplemental paperwork to the purchaser's conveyancer. If applicable, your conveyancer must also evidence that the mortgage has been redeemed to the buyers conveyancers. There is unlikely to be post completion procedures peculiar conveyancing in Lavenham.
I can not fathom if my bank obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called my Lavenham building society branch on a couple of occasions and was told it does not impact the mortgage offer and they would lend. My Lavenham conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- telephoned to say that they would not lend in accordance with their specific requirements. I have no idea who is right.
Provided that the solicitor is on the mortgage company panel, they must adhere to the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook conditions for the bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
I was told two weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Skipton. Is it usual for Skipton to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Lavenham is approved on their conveyancing panel? Skipton have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their PI Insurance.
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Skipton to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Skipton conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
I have instructed a Lavenham lawyer having made sure that they are on the HSBC conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
HSBC will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually HSBC will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Lavenham postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with HSBC, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Lavenham.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and found one close by in Lavenham I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 61 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Lavenham suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?
Should you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.
I've recently bought a leasehold property in Lavenham. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?
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 purchased a garden flat in Lavenham, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar flats in Lavenham with over 90 years remaining are worth £206,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2092
You have 67 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.