My property lawyer in Roath has never been on on the The Royal Bank of Scotland Conveyancing Panel. Is it possible for me to use my family solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the The Royal Bank of Scotland panel?
The limited options available to you here include:
- Complete the purchase with your preferred Roath solicitors but The Royal Bank of Scotland will need to use a conveyancer on their panel. This will result in additional total conveyancing charges as well as result in frustration.
- Choose a new lawyer to to deal with the conveyancing, remembering to check they are Persuade your conveyancer to use their best endeavours to join the The Royal Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel
I happen to be the single recipient of my late grandmother’s estate with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Roath. The Roath property was put into my name in October. I want to move. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', meaning my property ownership could be treated the same way as if I'd bought the house in October. Will no one buy the property for half a year?
The CML handbook mandates conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you may be caught by that. Some banks would take a sensible view as this obligation is primarily there to identify subsales or the flipping of properties.
When it comes to lenders such as RBS, do Roath conveyancing practitioners face a fee to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any mortgage company fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
My wife and I are in the process of looking at flats in Roath and I am about to put in an offer. Should I already have a solicitor appointed at this point? I am planning to take a mortgage with Principality.
You should start obtaining conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their contact information on to the EA. As you are obtaining a mortgage with Principality, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Principality conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
My relative recommended that if I am buying in Roath I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard Roath conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Roath around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Roath Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Roath Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Roath.
I am buying a new build house in Roath benefiting from help to buy. The builders refused to reduce the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The property agent told me not to tell my solicitor about the extras as it could impact my mortgage with the bank. Is this normal?.
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.
How does the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 impact my business property in Roath and how can your lawyers assist?
The particular law that you refer to affords protection to business tenants, giving them the right to make a request to court for a continuation of occupancy at the end of the lease term. There are limited grounds where a landlord can refrain from granting a lease renewal and the rules are complex. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Roath is one of the many areas of the UK in which the firms we work with are located
Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my lease in Roath. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. 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 lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Roath.
I am the registered owner of a garden flat in Roath, conveyancing having been completed February 2008. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable flats in Roath with over 90 years remaining are worth £197,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2078
With 56 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £29,500 and £34,000 plus costs.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.