I sincerely hope you can assist me. My Southgate lawyer is advising me that he has toapply for Southgate conveyancing searches asthe firm are on the Santanderapproved lawyer panel. Is my lawyer correct?
Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. As you are obtaining a home loan with a bank your lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your solicitor would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your lender’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to comply with the CML Handbook requirements . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Southgate conveyancing searches.
I am in the process of mortgaging my flat in Southgate, does my lawyer need to be on the Skipton Conveyancing panel?
There is nothing to stop you using your solicitor, but Skipton will insist on their interests being represented by a firm on their conveyancing panel. There is greater potential for delays and confusion with an additional lawyer added to the mix, and it will undoubtedly be more expensive too.
I used Stirling Law several years ago for my conveyancing in Southgate. I now require my papers however the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Southgate of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I am looking for a flat up to £235,500 and identified one near me in Southgate I like with open areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Southgate suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you may ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.
Back In 2006, I bought a leasehold house in Southgate. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Southgate who acted for me is not around. Any advice?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Southgate conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
We have reached the end of our tether in seeking a lease extension in Southgate. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Southgate conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Southgate property is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 70.31 years.
Threeweeks into a sale of a flat in Southgate. Conveyancing lawyers are doing their job but we are being charged a fortune from the freeholder. To date we have issued a cheque for £295.50 for a leasehold management information and then another £134.40 for supplemental questions raised by the purchaser's property lawyer.
Neither you or your solicitor will have any sway over the level of the fee for this information but the average fee for the information for Southgate leasehold premises is £355. When it comes to Southgate conveyancing sales it is conventional for the seller to cover the charges. The freeholder or their agents are not duty bound to answer these questions most will be content to do so - albeit often at high prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Regretfully there is no legislation that requires capped fees for administrative tasks. There is no statutory time limit by which they are required to provide answers.