Me and my fiance are purchasing a 2 bedroom flat in West Haddon with a mortgage. We have a West Haddon lawyer, however the bank says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel firms or continue with our West Haddon property lawyer and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your West Haddon conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
I am acquiring a property mortgage free in West Haddon. I have been living for the last Seventeen years in West Haddon. Conveyancing searches are a lot of money. As I know the road and vicinity intimately must I have all the conveyancing searches?
Provided that you do not need a mortgage, then all but one or two of the West Haddon conveyancing searches are non-obligatory. Your lawyer will try and sway you, no-doubt strongly, that you should have searches completed, but he is duty bound to do this. Do take into account; if you are going to sell the house at a future date, it will likely be be of importance to your future purchaser what the searches reveal. There are plenty of instances where houses with functional issues can still reveal detrimental search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in West Haddon will be able to give you some sensible advice in this regard.
We are planning to acquire a flat and require a conveyancing solicitor in West Haddon who is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. Can you recommend a local conveyancing firm?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Aldermore . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in West Haddon.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and found one round the corner in West Haddon I like with amenity areas and transport links nearby, however it's only got 49 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in West Haddon in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?
If you require a mortgage that many years will likely be an issue. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least 2 years you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.
I work for a reputable estate agency in West Haddon where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local West Haddon conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.
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.
West Haddon Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to buying
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How is the lease structured? Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge liability? Who are the managing agents?
Having used your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the lender conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the mortgage company approved panel. How can I be sure given that they are not listed on your directory?
Not all firms are yet listed on our lender panel search tool which is still relatively new. Law firms are listing on a daily basis and it is probably the case that your lawyer is on the bank conveyancing lawyer and you should probably take them at their word. Please do feel free to suggest that they completing their listing on our site as it would only cost them £1 a month to list themselves as being on the bank solicitor panel.