Last December we completed a house move in Swanley. We have since encountered a number of issues with the property which we consider were omitted in the conveyancing searches. What action can we take? What searches should? have been carried out as part of conveyancing in Swanley?
The question is not clear as what problems have arisen and if they are specific to conveyancing in Swanley. Conveyancing searches and due diligence undertaken as part of the legal transfer of property are designed to help avoid problems. As part of the legal transfer of property, a property owner fills in a questionnaire referred to as a Seller’s Property Information Form. If the information ends up being misleading, you could possibly take legal action against the vendor for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Swanley.
The Swanley conveyancing lawyers that I appointed last week on my purchase in Swanley have suddenly shut down. I only went with them because I needed a solicitor on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel and my family Swanley lawyer was not. I sent them a cheque for two hundred pounds in advance. What do I do now?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know immediately so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors may be able to assist.
I have recentlybeen informed that Action Conveyancing have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Swanley for a purchase of a freehold house 12 months ago. How can I establish that my home is registered correctly in the name of the former proprietor?
The easiest method to check if the premises 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 Swanley conveyancing specialists.
About to purchase a new build flat in Swanley. Conveyancing is necessary evil 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 legal work.
Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Swanley
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Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. 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. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company?
I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Swanley where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Swanley conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is 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 have given up trying to purchase the freehold in Swanley. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Swanley conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Swanley residence is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case affected 13 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 76 years.
My partner and I are purchasing a ground floor flat in Swanley. At the point of instructing our conveyancing practitioner, we were told they were on all major UK mortgage company panels. The mortgage broker emailed today to advise that they don't appear to be on the Yorkshire BS approved list. Were it to be true, what should we do? Do we just find a new property lawyer that is on their panel or do we cover the costs for dual representation, with Yorkshire BS selecting their own preferred conveyancing practitioner.
When buying a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the buyer’s lawyers to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a conveyancing practitioner has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the conveyancing practitioner to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the conveyancing practitioner has to satisfy. Some lenders now require their panel firms to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your lawyer should contact Yorkshire BS to find out if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on Yorkshire BS's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Swanley lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.