My husband and I are hoping to purchase a property in Shortlands and are in fact using a Shortlands conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Skipton Building Society have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Shortlands conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Shortlands solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Our son-in-law is in the process of securing a house that has just been built in Shortlands with a mortgage from Lloyds. His conveyancer has advised him of a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?
The form is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Lloyds conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Lloyds conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
My uncle informed me that in purchasing a property in Shortlands there could be various restrictions prohibiting external changes to the property. Is this right?
We are aware of a number of properties in Shortlands which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external alterations. Part of the conveyancing in Shortlands should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
Is it the case that all Shortlands CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Nationwide conveyancing panel?
Some major lenders now use the accreditation scheme as the kick off point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to join their panels.
It is not clear whether my lender requires a lease extension. I have called into my local Shortlands building society branch on various occasions and was informed it wasn't a problem and they will lend. My Shortlands conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- telephoned to say that they will not lend based on their published requirements. I simply don't know who is right.
As long as the lawyer is on the mortgage company approved list, they must follow the CML Handbook specifications for the 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 left on the lease.
It has been five months following my purchase conveyancing in Shortlands completed. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the asset from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
I am looking for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one close by in Shortlands I like with a park and station in the vicinity, however it only has 51 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Shortlands in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
If you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.
I am intending to sublet my leasehold apartment in Shortlands. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?
The lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Shortlands do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.
My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in Shortlands. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
if there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to calculate the premium.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Shortlands premises is Ravensbourne Lodge 4 Highland Road in February 2013. the Tribunal held that the amount payable for the freehold was £22,268