Our Sale solicitor has discovered an inconsistency between the surveyor’s assumptions in the valuation report and what is in the conveyancing documents. My solicitor says that he needs to ensure that the lender is happy with this discrepancy and is content to go ahead. Is my solicitor’s approach legitimate?
Your property lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for both parties.
My property lawyer in Sale is not on the Halifax Approved Panel. Can I still retain my prefered solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the Halifax panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
The limited options available to you here include:
- Carry on with your existing Sale solicitors but Halifax will need to use a conveyancer on their panel. This will result in additional total legal fees as well as cause frustration.
- Get an alternative lawyer to act in the purchase, remembering to check they are on the Halifax panel
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our home can not be found. The lawyers who conducted the conveyancing in Sale 4 years ago no longer exist. Will I be able to sell the house?
As long as the title is registered the details of your ownership will be evidenced by the Land Registry under a Title Number. It is easy to carry out a search at the Land Registry, find your house and order up to date copies of the Registered Entries for a small fee. Where the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will in most cases hold a file duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be retrieved for a small fee.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in Sale I like with amenity areas and transport links nearby, however it only has 51 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Sale in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
If you require a mortgage that many years will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.
I was advised by a couple of local estate agents in Sale to choose a property lawyer on your site. What’s the financial incentive for Estate Agents to offer your services over a competitor’s?
We refuse to offer any referral fee for directing people our way. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission as home movers will think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.
What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Sale conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Sale conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggest that you speak with several firms including non Sale conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions might be of use:
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How many lease extensions has the firm completed in Sale in the last year? Can they put you in touch with clients in Sale who can give a testimonial?
I invested in buying a 1st floor flat in Sale, conveyancing was carried out January 1996. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable properties in Sale with over 90 years remaining are worth £222,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease ends on 21st October 2091
You have 71 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.