My financial adviser requires my Ruislip solicitor’s panel reference for the Santander conveyancing panel. What is the best way to find this out. I have called my local Ruislip branch but they don't know it.
You are best placed to get this information from your Ruislip property lawyer . They should have a central record lender panel numbers.
My partner and I are acquiring a newly built apartment in Ruislip and my conveyancer is informing me that she is duty bound to the mortgage company to reveal incentives from the seller. I am under pressure to exchange and I don't want to delay deal. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancing practitioner. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
I have a decision in principle. The lender mentioned the home loan came with free conveyancing. Does this mean I have to use their panel lawyer as I would much rather instruct a specialised conveyancing solicitor in Ruislip?
You should check but the chances are that appoint one of their panel solicitors should you take up the "fee-free" offer. Speak to the lender to determine if they make available a cash alternative. Some banks have previously offered a £250 cashback as a further option in which case you could put that amount towards your preferred conveyancing solicitor in Ruislip.
Should my solicitor be raising enquiries concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Ruislip.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for solicitors conducting conveyancing in Ruislip. There are those who acquire a house in Ruislip, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical destruction, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or sell the premises. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Lawyers are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a numerous searches that can be carried out by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which will give them a better understanding of the risks in Ruislip. The standard completed inquiry forms sent to a purchaser’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a standard question of the vendor to discover whether the premises has suffered from flooding. In the event that flooding has previously occurred which is not notified by the vendor, then a purchaser may issue a compensation claim stemming from an incorrect response. The buyer’s solicitors should also conduct an enviro search. This should indicate whether there is any known flood risk. If so, further investigations will need to be carried out.
I have a terraced Georgian property in Ruislip. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Clydesdale. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the matching property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Ruislip and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the situation with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the work.
I work for a busy estate agency in Ruislip where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Ruislip conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?
Provided that the seller has been the owner 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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
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 buyer.
I inherited a second floor flat in Ruislip. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium due for a lease extension?
if there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the price.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Ruislip flat is Flat 72 Queens Walk in January 2013. The Tribunals calculated the premium payable to be £22,090. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 53.26 years.
