My husband and I are planning to buy a home in Old Swan and have appointed a Old Swan conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Nottingham Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Old Swan conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Old Swan solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
My partner and I have just purchased a house in Old Swan. We have since encountered a number of issues with the property which we believe were missed in the conveyancing searches. Do we have any recourse? Can you clarify the nature of searches that should have been ordered as part of conveyancing in Old Swan?
The question is vague as to the nature of the problems and if they are unique to conveyancing in Old Swan. Conveyancing searches and due diligence undertaken as part of the legal transfer of property are supposed to help avoid problems. As part of the process, a seller completes a form known as a Seller’s Property Information Form. If the information provided is inaccurate, you may have a misrepresentation claim against the vendor for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Old Swan.
My partner and I are downsizing from our home in Old Swan and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was built on contaminated land. A high street Old Swan lawyer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers are using an internet conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Old Swan. Having lived in Old Swan for six years we know of no issue. Should we contact our local Authority to seek confirmation that the buyers are looking for.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing lawyer already. Are they able to advise? You need to enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same sickness)
Hoping to buy a property located in Old Swan and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Old Swan. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Old Swan area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?
Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Old Swan. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found
There are only Seventy years left on my flat in Old Swan. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?
On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission 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. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. On the whole a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Old Swan.
I inherited a garden flat in Old Swan, conveyancing formalities finalised April 1996. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Old Swan with an extended lease are worth £201,000. The ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease expires on 21st October 2090
With only 65 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £13,300 and £15,400 plus legals.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.
How much experience do your Old Swan conveyancing solicitors have with Help To Buy, Shared Equity and similar schemes?
Old Swan conveyancing lawyers help thousands of people move home every year and supported lots of clients through the Help To Buy scheme. The chances are that whatever makes your case unique Old Swan conveyancers have worked on recent similar matters.