My fiance and I are looking to purchase a flat in Leeswood and are in fact using a Leeswood conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. HSBC Bank have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Leeswood lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property needing 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 bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Leeswood lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
I am nearing an exchange on a property in Leeswood and my mum and dad have sent the 10% deposit to my conveyancer. I am now told that as the deposit has been received from someone other than me my conveyancer needs to make a notification to my bank. Apparently, in also acting for the lender he must advise them that the balance of the purchase price is coming from anyone other than me. I informed the lender regarding my parents' contribution when I applied for the home loan, so is it really necessary for this now to delay the deal?
Your property lawyer is obliged to clarify with the bank to make sure that they know that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. Your solicitor can only disclose this to your bank if you permit them to, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
It is 10 years ago since I bought my home in Leeswood. Conveyancing lawyers have just been appointed on the sale but I can't track down my title documents. Will this cause complications?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly the deeds may be kept by the mortgage company or they may be in the possession of the lawyers who oversaw the purchase. Secondly in all probability the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining up to date copy of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Leeswood relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is unregistered it is more tricky but is resolvable.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £245,000 and found one round the corner in Leeswood I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 52 years on the lease. There is not much else in Leeswood suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?
If you require a home loan that many years will be an issue. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you can request that they start the process of the extension 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 concerning this matter.
Last December I purchased a leasehold house in Leeswood. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
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. It is an essential part 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).
Leasehold Conveyancing in Leeswood - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing
-
How much is the ground rent and service charge? It would be prudent to discover as much as possible concerning the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you will be at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day issues like the cleanliness of the common parts. Enquire of other tenants if they are happy with their management. Finally, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and specifically what it includes.
My mum and dad cant seem to find their Leeswood land registry title on the online search facility. They recall that sixty years ago when they bought the property there were complications with the post code not being identified on some systems.
The vast majority of premises in Leeswood should be revealed. Have you endevoured to search to simply the postcode. Normally it will identify all the residences within the postcode. Where registered it will show up with a title number. Where they bought back in the 70’s it's conceivable it may be unregistered. The address might still be revealed but with the title number identified as 'na'. In this scenario you will need to track down the original title documentation which may be with your parent’s bank.