It has come to my attention via my IFA that my St Neots lawyer is not on the mortgage company Solicitor panel. What can I do to be sure if this is correct?
The sensible course of action for you to take is to call your St Neots conveyancer. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to inform you what has happened. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the approved list of lawyers for your bank.
I am the registered owner of a freehold house in St Neots but nevertheless pay rent, why is this and what is this?
It’s unusual for properties in St Neots and has limited impact for conveyancing in St Neots but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back hundreds of years, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the establishment of fresh rentcharges from 1977 onwards.
Previous rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence in 2037 is to be extinguished.
Is it correct that all St Neots CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Nottingham conveyancing list of approved firms?
It is true that some banks and building societies now utilise CQS as the kick off point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to join their panels.
We had appointed conveyancers based in St Neots on the Kent Reliance solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a further amount for dealing with the Kent Reliance mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Kent Reliance?
Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your conveyancing practitioner is entitled to levy a fee for this. The charge is not dictated by Kent Reliance but by your St Neots conveyancer. Numerous firms on the Kent Reliance panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but many firms include it on their overall fee.
Yorkshire BS have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on a apartment in St Neots has been accepted, now what?
Your estate agent will need to know who your solicitors are (ensure that the solicitors are on the bank’s approved list). Call up Yorkshire BS or the broker and finalise any appropriate paperwork. Yorkshire BS will appoint a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or vendor to schedule an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes approximately ten days for the mortgage offer to be issued. Yorkshire BS will send the offer to you and your lawyers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in St Neots.
In my capacity as executor for the will of my uncle I am disposing of a property in Cardiff but live in St Neots. My solicitor (based 300 kilometers awayrequires that I execute a statutory declaration prior to the transaction finalising. Could you suggest a conveyancing practitioner in St Neots to attest and place their company stamp on the document?
Technically speaking you are unlikely to be required to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily any notary public or qualified solicitor will do regardless of whether they are St Neots based
Last April I purchased a leasehold property in St Neots. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I own a ground floor flat in St Neots, conveyancing having been completed February 1999. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent properties in St Neots with over 90 years remaining are worth £206,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2090
With just 66 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £12,400 and £14,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.
We are soon to exchange on the purchase a property in St Neots but as a result of damage from the recent storms I have negotiated reparation from the current proprietors of four thousand pounds taking the form of a adjustment in the price. This was going to be addressed as part of the conveyancing process however my mortgage company will not agree to this. Should they have been involved?
Any conveyancer listed on a bank approved list is duty bound to inform the mortgage company of any variations to the sale amount. In the event that you were to refuse your lawyer to notify the reduction to your lender then they would have no choice but to refrain from representing you and the mortgage company.