I am selling my home in Leyton and the estate agent has just called to say that the purchasers are changing their solicitor. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major lender only work with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Leyton ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Nationwide, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for many years.
Mortgage companies attribute this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. 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 hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The buyers are not going to have any impact on this.
My Leyton solicitor has spotted an inconsistency between the surveyor’s assumptions in the home valuation survey and what is in the legal papers for the property. My lawyer informs me that he must check that the lender is happy with this discrepancy and is still content to lend. Is my lawyer’s stance correct?
Your conveyancer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for both parties.
My wife and I are selling our house in Leyton and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being built land that was not decontaminated. Any local conveyancer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the buyers used a web based conveyancing practice as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Leyton. We have lived in Leyton for six years we know that this is a non issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to get clarification need.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You must check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same illness)
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £305k and found one near me in Leyton I like with amenity areas and station nearby, however it's only got 49 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Leyton in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease may be problematic. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.
Last November I purchased a leasehold flat in Leyton. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
In a situation 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. However, 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).
Following years of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Leyton. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
if there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to assess the amount due.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Leyton premises is 12 Nutfield Road in July 2014. the Tribunal judged that the price to be paid by the applicants for the freehold interest should be £19,572 This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 72.02 years.
How up-to-date is your search tool for the mortgage company conveyancing panel in Leyton? Do the lenders send you an updated list?
Leyton firms and firms carrying out conveyancing in Leyton themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the mortgage company conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from the lender directly.