I am progressing with the sale of my apartment in Marylebone and the EA has just text me to warn that the buyers are swapping property lawyer. The reason given is that the bank will only deal with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a major mortgage company only engage with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Marylebone ?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 25 years.
Banks blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say 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. Plenty of firms 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 sway in the decision.
The Marylebone conveyancing firm that just started acting on my house acquisition in Marylebone have without warning shut down. I chose them because I needed a solicitor on the HSBC conveyancing panel and my previous Marylebone lawyer was not. I paid them funds on account. What should be my next steps?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the HSBC conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors should be in a position to help.
I acquired my house on 7 April and my personal details are still not registered. Any reason for this? My conveyancing solicitor in Marylebone advises it would be registered in a couple of weeks. Are transfers in Marylebone particularly slow to register?
There is nothing unique when it comes to conveyancing in Marylebone registration formalities. Rather than based on location, timescales can vary subject to who lodges the application, whether it is in order and whether the Land registry communicate with any interested persons or bodies. At present approximately three quarters of submission are completed in less than three weeks but some can be subject to extensive delays. Registration is effected after the purchaser has moved in to the premises thus post completion formalities is not always primary concern but if it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your conveyancer should speak with the land registry and explain the circumstances.
Hoping to buy a property located in Marylebone and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Marylebone. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Marylebone area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?
Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Marylebone. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found
Having spent months of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Marylebone. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Marylebone conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Marylebone residence is Flats 37 & 39 88/90 Portland Place in December 2010. The Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the lease extensions in respect of these two flats is as follows:- For Flat 37, the sum of £385,230.00 For Flat 39, the sum of £436,780.00 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 24.02 years.
What makes a Marylebone lease unacceptable for security purposes?
There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Marylebone. All leases are drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:
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A duty to insure the building Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage
You could encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Chelsea Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.
How does one as executor remove a departed person's details from the title register for a house in Marylebone?
If a Marylebone property is jointly owned and one of the proprietors passes away, their name will not automatically be removed from the title deeds. You are not required to remove their name as in the event of a sale your lawyer would simply be asked to evidence why the other owner is not a party to the transfer, such as the probate documents.
With a view to making things smoother in the future you can apply to have the deceased name removed from the title by submitting an application to HM Land Registry with evidence of the death. There is no fee from the Registry for this service.