After looking at mumsnet.com for a high-quality lawyer in St James, many comment that I must use a CQS accredited solicitor. What is CQS?
St James Conveyancing Quality Scheme law firms have obtained accreditation by the law Society CQS was established to establish evidence of quality standards in the home buying process. CQS helps house movers to identify solicitor firms that provide a quality residential conveyancing. St James is one of the many areas in England and Wales in which CQS have a presence. The conveyancing scheme requires practices to undergo a strict assessment, compulsory training, self-reporting, spot checks and annual reviews in order to maintain CQS status. It is open only to members of the Law Society who meet the demanding standards set by the scheme and has the support of the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our home can not be found. The conveyancers who dealt with the conveyancing in St James 10 years ago no longer exist. What do I do?
As long as you have a registered title the information relating to your proprietorship will be retained by the Land Registry under a Title Number. It is possible to execute a search at the Land Registry, find your property and obtain up to date copies of the property title for a small fee. Where the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually hold a certified copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for £20 inclusive of VAT.
Just had an offer accepted on a new build apartment in St James. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.
Set out below is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in St James
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Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme.
I am a sole trader looking to lease a unit on a shopping parade. Can you recommend solicitors offering no-sale-no charges for non-domestic conveyancing in St James for under 1500k?
We are happy to recommend firms who host a wealth of experience of commercial conveyancing in St James, including the disposal and acquisition of businesses as well as simply premises. Whether you are hoping to purchase or lease a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail premises or a whole business we will find you the right firm. As for the charges these will vary based on the structure and nuances of the proposed transaction. Let us have your details or email so as to enable us to supply you with comprehensive commercial conveyancing calculation.
I am looking at a couple of apartments in St James which have approximately fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?
There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in St James is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the property. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with St James conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.
I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can one apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a St James conveyancing firm to help?
Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the price payable.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a St James flat is Flats 12A & 19, Evelyn Mansions Carlisle Place in June 2009. The Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the new lease of Flat 12A is £168,824, For the other flat the price was set at £169,110 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 56 years.
Me and my partner are hoping to buy a three room first floor flatin St James with a residential mortgage from a lender. We wish to instruct our conveyancer in St James yet our mortgage company inform us now that he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint from the our mortgage company panel firms or keep our St James solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that our mortgage company use our St James lawyer?
No, not really. The mortgage company mortgage offered to you is subject to conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank's conveyancing panel. in the past, most mortgage companies had large numbers of law firms on their panels, including almost all conveyancing solicitors in St James : a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your mortgage company.