Me and my husband are purchasing a leasehold flat in Stansted. My Conveyancer is not listed on the bank solicitor panel. Am I still permitted to retain my Stansted conveyancing solicitor even though they are not on the mortgage company panel?
You must instruct a conveyancing practitioner to deal with the legal work required if you take out a mortgage to purchase your home. They will carry out all the appropriate legal checks on the property, ensuring that you will be properly registered as the owner and ensure that all the necessary mortgage paperwork is in place. You can instruct a Stansted conveyancing practitioner of your choosing. However, where the property lawyer selected is not a member of the mortgage company conveyancing panel further costs will be levied as separate legal representation will be need by the lender. Lender panel applications can be submitted, so where your solicitor has not historically applied for membership they can do so.
My wife and I are buying a newly built flat in Stansted and my lawyer is informing me that she is duty bound to the lender to disclose incentives from the seller. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to exchange and I don't want to prolong deal. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancing practitioner. A precondition to being on a mortgage company 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.
A relative suggested that where I am buying in Stansted I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is occasionally included in the estimate for your Stansted conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out important information about Stansted around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information regarding Stansted.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our home can not be found. The solicitors who handled the conveyancing in Stansted 4 years ago are no longer around. Will I be able to sell the house?
Gone are the days when you need to hold title deeds to evidence that you are the registered proprietor of land or property, as the Land Registry hold details of all registered land or property electronically.
My partner has suggested that I use his conveyancing solicitors in Stansted. Should I find my own property lawyer?
There are no two ways about it it’s preferable to choose a conveyancing solicitor is to seek feedback from friends or relatives who have experience in using the firm you're considering.
I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Stansted where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Stansted conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
I purchased a 1 bedroom flat in Stansted, conveyancing was carried out 3 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding flats in Stansted with a long lease are worth £195,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2084
With only 63 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £16,200 and £18,600 as well as costs.
The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.