My wife and I are hoping to buy a home in Upminster and have instructed a Upminster conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Halifax have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Upminster conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Upminster lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
After reviewing moneysavingexpert.com for a recommended lawyer in Upminster, many advise that I must look for a CQS kitemarked lawyer. What is CQS?
The Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme is the recognised quality mark for legal experts in home ownership transfers, trusted by some of the UK's biggest banks. Four years ago the Conveyancing Quality Scheme was officially recognised by the Legal Ombudsman. CQS is not a scheme offered by the Society for Licensed Conveyancers. Upminster is one of the many areas of the UK where there are Accredited lawyers.
I have justbeen informed that Arc property Solicitors have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in Upminster for a purchase of a freehold house 12 months ago. How can I be sure that my home is in my name in the name of the former proprietor?
The easiest method to see if the property is in your name, 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 Upminster conveyancing specialists.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Upminster. 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 legal work.
Here is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Upminster
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Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal.
Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years left on my lease in Upminster. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?
If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Upminster.
We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in Upminster. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Upminster conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Upminster premises is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case affected 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 57.5 years.
How diverse are the property law services that Upminster conveyancing firms typically advise on?
By and large Upminster conveyancing practices will conduct various assistance to residential and rural land proprietors, vendors, investors, freeholders and leaseholders such as:
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Residential sale conveyancing in Upminster or nationally
Home purchase conveyancing in Upminster and beyond
Advice on purchasing property as co-owners Advising on buy to let and other investment property transactions Buying and selling via auction Tenancy Agreements in Upminster and elsewhere in the country