My fiance and I are planning to purchase a home in South Woodford and are in fact using a South Woodford conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Halifax have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our South Woodford lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage 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 mortgage company 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred South Woodford lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
Some advice if I may. My South Woodford solicitor is advising me that he has toorder South Woodford conveyancing searches due to the fact thatthe firm are on the HSBCconveyancing panel. Is this really necessary?
Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. As you are taking a mortgage with a bank your solicitor has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook conditions . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out South Woodford conveyancing searches.
I am being told by my lawyer that chancel insurance is required on my purchase. What is the level of cover for South Woodford conveyancing?
The appropriate level of chancel indemnity insurance should be dictated by who who your lender is. It would differ for example between Barclays and Barnsley Building Society. Conveyancing lawyers as opposed to borrowers take out such insurances.
Two weeks ago we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Clydesdale. South Woodford conveyancing solicitors have been instructed. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Clydesdale?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Clydesdale conducted the valuation? Have you informed Clydesdale as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.
About to purchase flat in South Woodford. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the UBS conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the South Woodford solicitor is on the UBS conveyancing panel.
It has been four months following my purchase conveyancing in South Woodford concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 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 residence 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.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in South Woodford. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.
Set out below are examples of a few leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in South Woodford
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Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Please supply evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier?
Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in South Woodford from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?
- Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in South Woodford can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers’ representatives. You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale. A minority of South Woodford leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers. Many freeholders or Management Companies in South Woodford levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in South Woodford.
I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a South Woodford conveyancing firm to represent me?
Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a South Woodford conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a South Woodford flat is 135 Maybank Road in January 2013. The Tribunal determined that the price to be paid by the tenants for the grant of a new lease is £10,592 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 71.2 years.