My wife and I are planning to acquire a home in Mitcheldean and have instructed a Mitcheldean conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Leeds Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Mitcheldean lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for 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 lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Mitcheldean lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Do I need to pay for insurance to protect me from financial exposure to chancel repairs when acquiring a residence in Mitcheldean?
Unless a prior purchase of the premises took place post 12 October 2013 you may assume that solicitors delivering conveyancing in Mitcheldean to remain recommending a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Mitcheldean prior to appointing lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. Our surveyor has said that some lenders tend refuse to grant a mortgage on a flying freehold home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different requirements from Nationwide. Should you wish to call us we can check via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Mitcheldean. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Mitcheldean to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
I was recommended by two or three local selling agents in Mitcheldean to select a solicitor using your seach tool. What’s the financial advantage for Estate Agents to offer your services over a competitor’s?
We refuse to give any referral fee for pointing buyers and sellers in our direction. We found it would be just too difficult a fee because members of the public would think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.
I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years unexpired on my lease in Mitcheldean. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?
If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Mitcheldean.
I purchased a split level flat in Mitcheldean, conveyancing formalities finalised 5 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar flats in Mitcheldean with an extended lease are worth £179,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2082
With only 57 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £26,600 and £30,800 as well as professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.
How does one as executor remove a departed person's details from the title deeds for a property in Mitcheldean?
If a Mitcheldean property is jointly owned and one of the proprietors passes away, their name will not immediately be removed from the Land Registry title. You are not required to remove their name as in the event of a disposal you would just need to evidence as to the reason the joint proprietor is not included in the conveyance, ordinarily this takes the form of a grant of probate.
With a view to making the sale conveyancing smoother for the sale of the property you can apply to have the deceased person removed from the title register by submitting an application to HM Land Registry with proof of the death. There is no fee from the Registry for this service.