We are purchasing a 2 bedroom apartment in Prestwich with a mortgage. We like our Prestwich conveyancer, however the mortgage company advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel firms or keep our Prestwich conveyancer and pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. We regard this is inequitable; are we not able to require that the bank use our Prestwich lawyer ?
Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Prestwich conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
It is a dozen years since I acquired my house in Prestwich. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been appointed on the sale but I am unable to find the deeds. Is this a problem?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly there is a possibility that the deeds will be with your mortgage company or they may be in the possession of the lawyers who handled your purchase. Secondly in most cases the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Prestwich relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is not registered it is more tricky but is not insurmountable.
Various online forums that I have frequented warn that are the primary cause of obstruction in Prestwich house deals. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released determinations of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the most frequent causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Searches are not likely to be the root cause of slowing down conveyancing in Prestwich.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £195,000 and found one round the corner in Prestwich I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Prestwich suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be an issue. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this.
Do I need to be wary that estate agents that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use an internet conveyancing firm rather than a High Street Prestwich conveyancing practice?
As is the case with many professional services, often input from relatives can be worth their weight in gold. Yet there are lots of parties with a keen interest in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, mortgage brokers and mortgage companies might all recommend lawyers to choose. On occasion these lawyers might be known to one of the organisations as being good in their field, but sometimes there may be a financial incentive behind the endorsement. You have the right to choose your own lawyer. Don't forget that most banks specify a panel list of conveyancers you are obliged to use for the lender related work in your transaction.
I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Prestwich where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Prestwich conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. 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 extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Prestwich - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing
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Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments? The answer will be important as a) areas could cause problems in the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate if services are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the managing agents you will need to have all the details In the main the outlay for major works are not included within maintenance charges, although there some managing agents in Prestwich obliged leasehold owners to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific intention of establishing a fund for major repairs or maintenance.