We are hoping to buy a 1 bedroom apartment in Shenley with a mortgage. We like our Shenley conveyancer, however the mortgage company advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel conveyancing practices or continue with our Shenley conveyancer and pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. This seems very unfair; can we not require that the lender use our Shenley conveyancing practitioner ?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’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 Shenley conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Finally the sale completed on my house in Shenley last November yet the purchaser is Skype messaging every few hours to moan that his conveyancer needs to hear from myconveyancer. What should have happened now that I have sold?
Post completion of your house sale your solicitor is duty bound to deliver the transfer documentation and all additional paperwork to the buyer’s solicitors. Depending on the transaction, your lawyer should also confirm that the home loan has been repaid to the purchasers conveyancers. There is unlikely to be post completion procedures just for conveyancing in Shenley.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am wet behind the ears as FTB of a two bedroom flat in Shenley. Do I receive the keys to the property on the completion date from my conveyancer? If so, I will instruct a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Shenley?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will transfer the completion advance to the seller's solicitors, and once they have received this, you will be called to pick up the keys from the Estate Agents and move into your new home. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.
It is not clear whether my lender obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have telephoned my Shenley building society branch on various occasions and was advised it wasn't an issue and they will lend. My Shenley conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- called to say that they refuse to lend in accordance with their specific requirements. I simply don't know who is right.
The conveyancing practitioner has to follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook section two requirements for your bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
I have instructed a Shenley lawyer having made sure that they are on the Principality conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Principality will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Principality will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Shenley surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
I am looking for a ground for flat up to £305k and found one close by in Shenley I like with amenity areas and transport links nearby, however it only has 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Shenley for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Shenley where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Shenley conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.
I inherited a first floor flat in Shenley. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum payable for a lease extension?
in cases where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the amount due.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Shenley flat is Ground Floor Maisonette 17 Milton Road in January 2014. The Tribunal determined the premium payable by the Applicant to the should be £13,299 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 71.73 years.
Should local authority consent be necessary to convert a house into a couple of flats in Shenley? This has occurred to a property opposite to a relative in Shenley and was ignorant of the conversion until after the works were finished.
Planning consent is necessary for converting a single dwelling in Shenley into flats but possibly not for converting back to single dwelling-house so, in answer to your question, yes,a it is needed.