As a FTB what is the most important number one tip you can impart concerning purchase conveyancing in Merton Park?
Not many law firms or advisers will tell you this but conveyancing in Merton Park or throughout South West London is an adversarial process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists an abundance of opportunity for friction between you and others involved in the home moving process. E.g., the seller, estate agent and even potentially your bank. Choosing a solicitor for your conveyancing in Merton Park should not be taken lightly as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY person in the process whose responsibility is to act in your legal interests and to protect you.
We are witnessing a definite ongoing adversarial element to conveyancing- someone must be blamed for the process taking so long. We recommend that you should always trust your lawyer above the other players in the home moving process.
I am purchasing a garden flat in Merton Park. Can I do my own conveyancing?
Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Merton Park you will have to appoint a solicitor on your mortgage company's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Merton Park.
Do I choose a Licenced Conveyancer or Solicitor for conveyancing in Merton Park?
There are two types of lawyers who can carry out conveyancing in Merton Park namely CLC regulated conveyancers or solicitors. Both professionals handle conveyancing services that you need to complete the disposal or acquisition of property. Both are obliged to perform Merton Park conveyancing to the same standards and guidelines so you can be sure that your conveyancing will be properly administered and that the requisite steps will be suitably taken.
This question may be naive but I am wet behind the ears as a 1st time buyer of a ground floor flat in Merton Park. Do I pick up the keys to the house on the completion date from my lawyer? If this is the case, I will appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in Merton Park?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will arrange to send the purchase money to the vendor’s lawyers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be called to collect the keys from the property Agents and move into your new home. Usually this happens early afternoon.
is it true that all Merton Park solicitor firms on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the SRA. The majority of banks do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the firms would be governed by the CLC.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Merton Park?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Merton Park. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
I am looking at a two flats in Merton Park both have in the region of fifty years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?
A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area.
We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in Merton Park. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the price.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Merton Park premises is 14 Nutwell Street in January 2014. The premium payable for the acquisition of a new lease of the subject premises was in the sum of £30,523 This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 62.94 years.
When it comes to my conveyancing in Merton Park should I be charged VAT on the following: (1) Land reg fee on purchase (2) Pre - completion search fee (3) SDLT E submission on purchase (4) Bank TT fee
(1) Land reg fee on purchase - No (2) Pre - completion search fees -No, (such conveyancing searches are HMLR ones and means £4 and possibly £2 bankruptcy per name on your mortgage) (3) SDLT E submission on your purchase - There is no VAT on Stamp Duty. However if the firm is charging a stamp duty e-submission fee as part of their services - some Merton Park conveyancers do - that will incur VAT(4) Bank transfer fee - Yes it is for the lawyer's time in submitting the funds this way.