I am in the process of selling my maisonette in Southsea and the estate agent has just called to say that the buyers are swapping law firm. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a major lender only work with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Southsea ?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in recent years big names such as Santander, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.
Lenders justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
My lawyer in Southsea is not on the Clydesdale Approved Panel. Is it possible for me to use my prefered solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the Clydesdale list of approved lawyers?
The limited options open to you here include:
- Carry on with your existing Southsea solicitors but Clydesdale will need to instruct a conveyancer on their panel. This will result in additional total conveyancing charges and cause delays.
- Get a new practitioner to act in the conveyancing, not forgetting to check they are on the Clydesdale panel
I have todaybeen informed that Wolstenholmes have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Southsea for a purchase of a freehold house 18 months ago. How can I be sure that my home is registered correctly in the name of the former proprietor?
The quickest way to see if the premises is registered to you, you can carry out 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 Southsea conveyancing specialists.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £305k and found one round the corner in Southsea I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 51 years on the lease. There is not much else in Southsea in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease may be an issue. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor for residential conveyancing in Southsea. I've chance upon a web site which appears to be the perfect solution If it is possible to get all formalities done via web that would be preferable. Do I need to be wary? What are the potential pitfalls?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years left on my lease in Southsea. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?
On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Southsea.
I am the registered owner of a 2 bed flat in Southsea, conveyancing having been completed in 1999. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable flats in Southsea with an extended lease are worth £255,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease ends on 21st October 2095
With only 73 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.