My partner and I are only a couple days away from an exchange on a flat in Southwater and my mum and dad have sent the 10% deposit to my lawyer. I am now informed that as the deposit has not arrived from me my property lawyer needs to disclose this to my mortgage company. Apparently, in also acting for the lender he must inform them that the balance of the purchase price is coming from anyone other than me. I advised the mortgage company concerning my parents' contribution when I applied for the home loan, so is it really appropriate for this now to be an issue?
The conveyancer is duty bound to check with lender to ensure that they are aware that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. The solicitor can only report this to your bank if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
As a FTB what is the most important advice you can give me regarding purchase conveyancing in Southwater?
Not many law firms or advisers will tell you this but conveyancing in Southwater or throughout West Sussex is an adversarial process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists an abundance of opportunity for conflict between you and other parties involved in the transaction. For example, the seller, selling agent and on occasion the mortgage company. Appointing a law firm for your conveyancing in Southwater should not be taken lightly as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE party in the process whose interest is to act in your legal interests and to protect you.
We are witnessing a distinct emergence in the "blame" culture- someone has to be blamed for the process taking so long. You your first instinct should be to trust your conveyancer above all other parties when it comes to the legal assignment of property.
I am planning to move property in July. Does my conveyancing solicitor liaise with the removal company on the completion day. On a separate note, can you recommend a removal company in Southwater. Conveyancing solicitor was organised before I stumbled across this site.
On the afternoon of completion you can collect the keys from your property agent but this should only happen after the previous owners lawyers inform the agent that they acknowledge receipt of the completion payment and the keys can be collected. You should advise the removal men that they can start moving you in. We are not in a position to recommend a specific removal organisation but can assist you in locating a residential property solicitor in Southwater or a legal practice that specialises in conveyancing in Southwater.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Virgin Money. I assume I don't need a Southwater solicitor on the Virgin Money panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Virgin Money mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Virgin Money mortgage from the register. Virgin Money, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Virgin Money has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Virgin Money has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Southwater. My financial adviser suggested a lawyer. I paid an advanced payment of £200. A couple of days later, the lawyer called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Co-operative panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
I have recentlydiscovered that Stirling Law have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in Southwater for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 10 months ago. How can I check that my home is in my name in the name of the previous owner?
The quickest method to check if the property is registered to you, you can make 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 Southwater conveyancing specialists.
I wish to sublet my leasehold flat in Southwater. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?
Your lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Southwater do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.
I acquired a 1st floor flat in Southwater, conveyancing was carried out in 1998. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Southwater with over 90 years remaining are worth £260,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2098
With only 74 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.
How easy is it to change a solicitor as I need to find a Southwater based firm who is on the lender conveyancing panel. Is it advisable to appoint a new law firm?
In the event that you have not formally instructed a conveyancer to start work and at this stage simply received quotes, you're perfectly free to choose a different solicitor to carry out your work for you. The best way is to get recommendations from friends or family who have actually used the solicitor or conveyancer in Southwater that you're considering.