It has come to my attention via my estate agent that my Splott the law firm I have appointed is not on the lender Solicitor panel. How can I be certain that this is indeed the case?
The first thing you need to do is to call your Splott lawyer directly. You lawyer should advise you what has happened. Where they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the approved list of lawyers for your bank.
Our solicitor has identified a a legal deficiency with the lease for the flat we are buying in Splott. The other side have suggested defective title insurance as a solution. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our property lawyer says that he must check that the lender is content with this solution. Are we the client or is the bank?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the risk of a conflict of interest, you and the mortgage company are the client. Your lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the bank can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your solicitor will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
My wife and I are planning on selling our home in Splott and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was constructed on contaminated land. Any local lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers used a web based conveyancing outfit rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Splott. Having lived in Splott for many years we know that this is a non issue. Should we get in touch with our local Authority to obtain clarification need.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing lawyer currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You should check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same sickness)
Me and my brother have a terraced Edwardian property in Splott. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Virgin Money. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold under the matching address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You should review 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 Splott and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the situation with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the purchase.
I am buying a new build house in Splott with a loan from Bank of Scotland. The builders would not budge the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The estate agent told me not disclose to my solicitor about this deal as it could adversely affect my mortgage with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed flat in Splott. Conveyancing is yet to be initiated, however I have recently received a yearly service charge demand – what should I do?
Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the service charge as you normally would as all rents and maintenance payments will be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
I am the registered owner of a garden flat in Splott, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar flats in Splott with a long lease are worth £186,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2079
With 53 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £27,600 and £31,800 plus costs.
The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.