My husband and I are hoping to purchase a property in Peterborough and have instructed a Peterborough conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. TSB have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Peterborough solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor 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 Peterborough 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 grandfather passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Peterborough. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £4500. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to HSBC, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
Given you plan to re-mortgage then HSBC will insist on your using a conveyancer on the HSBC conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your HSBC conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the HSBC mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
Do I need to take out insurance to cover chancel repairs when buying a residence in Peterborough?
Unless a prior purchase of the property took place after 12 October 2013 you could expect conveyancing practitioners carrying out conveyancing in Peterborough to continue to suggest a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
How does conveyancing in Peterborough differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Peterborough approach us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is constructed. This is because new home sellers in Peterborough tend to acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Peterborough or who has acted in the same development.
I was advised by a couple of local estate agents in Peterborough to choose a solicitor on your site. Is there a financial inducement for Estate Agents to promote your site rather than alternative conveyancing organisations?
We don’t give any commission for pointing buyers and sellers to this site. We thought it would be too underhand a fee as home movers will 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 only have Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Peterborough. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?
On the basis that 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. For most situations a specialist should be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Peterborough.
Peterborough Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before Purchasing
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For many Peterborough leaseholds the outlay for major works tend not to be incorporated into the maintenance charges, although there some managing agents in Peterborough ask leasehold owners to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific intention of establishing a fund for larger works. How much is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the property? Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge liability?