My flat in Southall is up for sale and I have accepted an offer. Will my lawyer have to be required to be on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their specifications fairly frequently at the moment.
What is your number one tip for choosing a conveyancing solicitor in Southall
We would encourage you not to base your choice on the lowest Southall conveyancing fees. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in ahead of time.
We expect to receive a AIP from UBS this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do UBS recommend any Southall solicitors on the UBS conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?
You will need to appoint Southall solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the UBS conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and UBS through the process.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Southall. I have a mortgage agreed with Coventry BS. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Coventry BS, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel.
I have a renovated Victorian house in Southall. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Lloyds TSB Bank. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Southall and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also question the position with the conveyancing lawyer who conducted the conveyancing.
How does conveyancing in Southall differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Southall contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is finished. This is because new home sellers in Southall tend to buy the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Southall or who has acted in the same development.
In my capacity as executor for the will of my grandmother I am selling a residence in Newport but I am based in Southall. My solicitor (based 300 kilometers from meneeds me to execute a stat dec prior to completion. Can you recommend a conveyancing practitioner in Southall to witness this legal document for me?
Technically speaking you are unlikely to be required to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily any notary public or qualified solicitor will do regardless of whether they are Southall based
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Southall with the intention of speeding up the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Southall can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers’ conveyancers. You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale. If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing. A minority of Southall leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers. Many landlords or Management Companies in Southall charge for providing management packs for a leasehold home. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Southall.
I own a garden flat in Southall. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum payable for the purchase of the freehold?
Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Southall conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Southall flat is 33 Barbican Road in January 2013. The Tribunals calculation of the lease extension premium payable was £17,592. This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 55.12 years.
