Our Victoria Docks solicitor has discovered a difference when comparing the assumptions in the home valuation survey and what is revealed within the legal papers for the property. My solicitor has advised that he is duty bound to ensure that the bank is happy with this discrepancy and is content to go ahead. Is my conveyancer’s stance correct?
Your conveyancing practitioner must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
We see that you have a search directory listing law firms on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. Do companies pay you a referral fee if I instruct them for our own conveyancing in Victoria Docks?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Co-operative conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Victoria Docks.
How does conveyancing in Victoria Docks differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Victoria Docks approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is completed. This is because developers in Victoria Docks tend to purchase the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Victoria Docks or who has acted in the same development.
In what way can the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 affect my business premises in Victoria Docks and how can you help?
The 1954 Act provides a safeguard to business leaseholders, giving them the dueness to make a request to court for a continuation of occupancy at the end of an expired lease. There are limited grounds that a landlord can refrain from granting a lease renewal and the rules are complex. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Victoria Docks is one of the numerous locations in which the firms we work with are located
Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Victoria Docks from the point of view of expediting the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Victoria Docks can be avoided if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers. You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale. If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Victoria Docks state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand.
I inherited a two-bedroom flat in Victoria Docks. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium due for the purchase of the freehold?
if there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to judgment on the sum to be paid.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Victoria Docks premises is 46 Credon Road in January 2014. On 11 September 2013 Deputy District Judge Price sitting at the Bow County Court made a vesting order that the freeholder surrender his lease and be granted a new lease of the Premises on such terms as may be determined by the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).The appropriate sum as concluded by the Tribunal was £7225 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 69.77 years.
Do I stop the direct debit for my mortgage with UBS as soon as a completion date for my sale in Victoria Docks has been set?
No, you must keep paying any mortgage payments to UBS until the mortgage is repaid on completion as part of your Victoria Docks conveyancing.