I am in the process of selling my ground floor flat in New Addington and the EA has just e-mailed to advise that the purchasers are switching solicitor. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading lender only engage with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in New Addington ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in recent years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 25 years.
Banks blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some 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 buyers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
We have a mortgage agreed in principle with UBS. New Addington conveyancing solicitors have been instructed. How long does it take for UBS to send the offer to the property lawyer?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have UBS conducted the valuation? Have you advised UBS as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the UBS conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.
The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in New Addington. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How do I make a complaint?
All banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.
Planning on purchasing a apartment in New Addington. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the New Addington lawyer is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel.
What will a local search tell me concerning the property we're purchasing in New Addington?
New Addington conveyancing often starts with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search company for instance Xpress Legal The local search plays an important part in many a New Addington conveyancing purchase; that is if you wish to avoid any nasty once you have moved into your property. The search should supply data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 subject areas.
The deeds to our property can not be found. The lawyers who dealt with the conveyancing in New Addington 4 years ago no longer exist. What are my next steps?
You no longer need to hold title deeds to evidence that you own the land or property, given that the Land Registry hold details of all registered land or property electronically.
I decided to have a survey completed on a house in New Addington prior to instructing lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. My surveyor advised that some lenders will refuse to give a loan on a flying freehold home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. If you contact us we can investigate further via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in New Addington. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in New Addington especially if they regularly deal with such properties in New Addington.
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in New Addington both have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?
A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorates and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field.
I am the proprietor of a basement flat in New Addington. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum due for the purchase of the freehold?
if there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to make a decision on the premium.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a New Addington premises is The Woodlands 95 Purley Park Road in April 2009. The Tribunals own valuation produced the figure of £37,912. This case was in relation to 6 flats. The unexpired term was 78.32 years.