I am in the process of selling my ground floor flat in Maida Vale and the EA has just text me to say that the buyers are changing their law firm. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading mortgage company only deal with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Maida Vale ?
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 considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.
Lending institutions attribute this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – 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 says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms 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. Your purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.
we are a couple who decided to purchase a 3 bedroom apartment in Maida Vale with a residential mortgage from Platform Home Loans Ltd.We have a Maida Vale conveyancing solicitor but Platform Home Loans Ltd informed us her practice is not listed on their "panel". It seems we are left with little choice but to instruct a Platform Home Loans Ltd panel lawyer or keep our local solicitor and pay for a Platform Home Loans Ltd panel lawyer to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. The home loan issued to you contains terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers needs to be on the Platform Home Loans Ltd approved list. Until recently, most banks had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Platform Home Loans Ltd
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what should have been a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Maida Vale is the location of the property. What do you suggest?
Flying freeholds in Maida Vale are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Maida Vale you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Maida Vale may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.
I need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor for freehold conveyancing in Maida Vale. I happened to stumble upon a web site which appears to be the ideal offering If it is possible to get all the legals completed via email that would be preferable. Should I be concerned? What are the potential pitfalls?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Maida Vale with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?
- Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Maida Vale can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors. You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale. Some Maida Vale leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Maida Vale conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
Following months of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Maida Vale. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Maida Vale conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Maida Vale property is 4 & 4A Charteris Road in June 2009. the Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the enfranchisement of 4/4a Charteris Road to be £15,510 for at 4and £15,694 for at 4a This case affected 2 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 70.02 years.
I am in the process of purchasing my first home in Maida Vale. Conveyancing solicitor has been chosen. The broker suggested that a survey is not appropriate as the property was only built 22 years ago.
As the bare minimum you need a Home Buyer's Report. As the premises is more than ten years old the property will not come with a warranty, so you would be well advised not to take a risk. For a property that age with no signs of defects a Home Buyer's report could suffice. The report should highlight any obvious issues and recommend further investigation where relevant. If there are any signs of material issues get a full structural survey.