My wife and I are looking to acquire a house in Pinner and are in fact using a Pinner conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Nationwide Building Society have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Pinner solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is standard 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 Quality Scheme. Your solicitor 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Pinner lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
I purchased a freehold property in Pinner yet pay rent, why is this and what is this?
It is rare for properties in Pinner and has limited impact for conveyancing in Pinner but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges have existed for hundreds of years, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the establishment of new rentcharges post 1977.
Old rentcharges can now be redeemed by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 is to be extinguished.
This question may be naive but I am wet behind the ears as a first time buyer of a ground floor flat in Pinner. Do I pick up the keys to the house on the completion date from my solicitor? If so, I will find a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Pinner?
On the day of completion you do not need to attend the conveyancers office in Pinner. Conveyancing lawyers for you will arrange to send the completion advance to the vendor’s lawyers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be called to receive the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.
Can I be sure that the Pinner conveyancing solicitor on the Virgin Money panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Pinner obtaining recommendations is a sensible start. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always recommend that you speak with the lawyer handling your transaction.
I have paid off my mortgage with RBS. I assume I don't need a Pinner lawyer on the RBS panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your RBS mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the RBS mortgage from the register. RBS, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where RBS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- RBS has instructed the Land Registry to do so
2 months have elapsed since my purchase conveyancing in Pinner concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the property from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
I am purchasing my first flat in Pinner with a mortgage from Nottingham Building Society. The builders refused to move on the amount so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The property agent told me not reveal to my solicitor about the side-deal as it could jeopardize my loan with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
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’m about to sell my basement apartment in Pinner. Conveyancing has not commenced, but I have recently had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?
The sensible thing to do is clear the service charge as you normally would as all ground rent and maintenance payments should be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can a leaseholder apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Pinner conveyancing firm to represent me?
You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Pinner conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Pinner residence is Flats 8, 11 and 15 Craigmore Court 46 Murray Road in December 2013. The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenant of Flat 8 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,438 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee . The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenants of Flat 11 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,791 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee. The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenant of Flat 15 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,638 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee . This case related to 3 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 71 years.