I am not well enough to travel far from Southsea. Is there a reason why all Southsea conveyancing practitioners are not on all mortgage company panels?
Banks highlight the fact that solicitor-led fraud is thought to be responsible for millions of pounds of fraud every year.The dismissal of law firms from lender panels started with the rise in mortgage fraud, which prompted a thematic review by the Financial Services Authority in 2011. Its conclusions included recommendations for lenders to review their conveyancing panels, which triggered a major policy change in the sector. It resulted in lenders purging a number of firms off their panel of approved lawyers .
We are acquiring a newly built duplex in Southsea and my lawyer is informing me that she is duty bound to the mortgage company to disclose incentives from the developer. I am under pressure to sign contracts and I have no desire to prolong deal. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your lawyer. A precondition to being on a lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
As someone not used to the Southsea conveyancing process what’s the number one tip you can give me for the ownership transfer in Southsea
You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Southsea or throughout England and Wales is an adversarial process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there is plenty of opportunity for confrontation between you and other parties involved in the house moving process. For instance, the seller, estate agent and on occasion your bank. Selecting a law firm for your conveyancing in Southsea is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY party in the legal process whose interest is to act in your best interests and to keep you safe.
We are witnessing a distinct ongoing adversarial element to conveyancing- someone must be at fault for the process being so protracted. You your first instinct should be to trust your lawyer above all other parties when it comes to the legal assignment of property.
We are purchasing a detached bungalow in Southsea. We would like to carry out an extension to the side at the property.Will the conveyancing process include investigations to determine if these alterations are prohibited?
Your property lawyer will review the registered title as conveyancing in Southsea will sometimes identify restrictions in the title deeds which prohibit categories of changes or necessitated the permission of a 3rd party. Many additions call for local authority planning consent and approval under the building regulations. Many areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which frequently prevent or impact extensions. It would be prudent to check these things with a surveyor prior to committing yourself to a purchase.
I currently have a mortgage with Nottingham for my property in Southsea. Conveyancing has been completed 12 months ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Nottingham?
Your original mortgage agreement with Nottingham will provide that you need their approval before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Nottingham’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Nottingham directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Nottingham conveyancing panel firm.
Having read lots of house buying guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Southsea solicitor - who is on the Principality conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Principality will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Principality will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your conveyancing practitioner will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Southsea postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Principality, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Southsea.
We are purchasing a property and the solicitor has referenced Chancel Repair to which the property may be obligated to pay as it falls into the area of such a church. She has mentioned insurance. Is this really appropriate for conveyancing in Southsea
Unless a prior acquisition of the property completed post 12 October 2013 you may assume that conveyancing practitioners conducting conveyancing in Southsea to remain recommending a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.
Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years unexpired on my lease in Southsea. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?
On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. For most situations a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Southsea.
I bought a 1st floor flat in Southsea, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2002. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding flats in Southsea with over 90 years remaining are worth £265,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2097
You have 75 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £8,600 and £9,800 plus professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.