My husband and I are looking to buy a property in Pimlico and are in fact using a Pimlico conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Halifax have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Pimlico lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. 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 lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Pimlico solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
I am need of leasehold conveyancing for an apartment in a relatively new development (five years old) in Pimlico. Almost all the properties have already been sold. Is it strictly necessary to order neighbourhood searches for my conveyancing in Pimlico?
Conveyancing Searches are a vital link in the Pimlico conveyancing process. There are hundreds companies who offer Pimlico conveyancing searches, as well straight from the local authority. These are known collectively as personal search organisation and they produce, not surprisingly, personal searches. Nevertheless, all Local Authority Search conveyancing products have one thing in common - they must obtain their information from the local authoritative source.
I can see plenty of here concerning conveyancing in Pimlico but what is your top tip for selecting the right conveyancer in Pimlico
It would be unwise to be tempted by the lowest Pimlico conveyancing quote. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in advance.
This question may be naive but I am wet behind the ears as FTB of a ground floor flat in Pimlico. Do I receive the keys to the property on completion from my lawyer? If so, I will use a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Pimlico?
On the day of completion you do not need to go to the conveyancers office in Pimlico. Conveyancing lawyers for you will electronically transfer the purchase money to the seller's lawyers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be called to receive the keys from the selling Agents and move into your new home. Usually this happens early afternoon.
I happen to be the sole recipient of my late mum's will with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Pimlico. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in December. I now wish to sell up. I understand that there is a CML six month 'rule', meaning my proprietorship could be regarded the same way as though I had purchased the property in December. Is the property unsalable for six months?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook mandates conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you might be impacted by that. How practical a view mortgage companies take of it, depend on the mortgage company as this clause is chiefly there to identify subsales or the flipping of properties.
I am buying a new build house in Pimlico with the aid of help to buy. The sellers would not budge the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The estate agent told me not disclose to my solicitor about this extras as it may adversely affect my mortgage with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I work for a long established estate agent office in Pimlico where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Pimlico conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
I own a second floor flat in Pimlico. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount due for the purchase of the freehold?
Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Pimlico conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Pimlico property is Flats 12A & 19, Evelyn Mansions Carlisle Place in June 2009. The Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the new lease of Flat 12A is £168,824, For the other flat the price was set at £169,110 This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired term was 56 years.
My partner and I are first time buyers just having agreed a price on a property in Pimlico, and are now looking to get solicitors appointed. I have utilised the various rating based websites and the results are from all across the country. Is it advisable to have a Pimlico property lawyer local to your prospective new home? We are willing to do all the communicating over the web, but I am thinking at some stage we will need to physically go into the conveyancing practitioner's office to sign papers?
Generally there is no need to physically visit the office of your lawyer, they can send any relevant papers to you, which you can sign and return. Many buyers and sellers prefer to instruct a locally based solicitor, but it is not essential for conveyancing in Pimlico.