My wife and I are planning to acquire a property in Sidcup and are in fact using a Sidcup conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Virgin Money have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Sidcup lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for 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 Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer 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 lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Sidcup lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
My wife and I are purchasing a property in Sidcup. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? On the day of competition we will need to send money into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our deposit?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
Are all Sidcup Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the TSB conveyancing list of approved firms?
A selection of banks and building societies now use the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to remain on their approved list of firms.
We have a mortgage agreed in principle with Barclays. Sidcup conveyancing solicitors were instructed. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Barclays?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have Barclays done the survey? Have you advised Barclays as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Barclays conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
I have justfound out that Arc property Solicitors have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Sidcup for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 18 months ago. How can I check that my home is in my name in the name of the former proprietor?
The easiest way to see if the premises is registered to you, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Sidcup conveyancing specialists.
I am looking for a ground for flat up to £305k and found one close by in Sidcup I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, however it's only got 51 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Sidcup suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will be an issue. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the property 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 current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.
I am a sole trader looking to lease a unit on the high street. Can you recommend conveyancers offering competitive fees for commercial conveyancing in Sidcup for under 2k?
We are happy to recommend firms who have an in-depth of experience of commercial conveyancing in Sidcup, including the sale and acquisition of businesses as well as simply property. Whether you are hoping to purchase or dispose of a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail premises or a complete business we will put you in touch with the right lawyer. Regarding the fees this will depend on the structure and heads of terms of the deal. Please provide us with your contact information or call so as to enable us to furnish you with comprehensive commercial conveyancing quote.
Last October I purchased a leasehold house in Sidcup. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I inherited a ground flat in Sidcup. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium payable for the purchase of the freehold?
Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Sidcup conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Sidcup flat is 103a Footscray Road in January 2014. The tribunal determines that the premium payable for the extended lease should be £34,500 according to the expert witness valuation calculation This case related to 1 flat.