The Wimbledon conveyancing lawyers that just started acting on my house acquisition in Wimbledon have suddenly shut down. I chose them because I had to have a solicitor on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel and my preferred Wimbledon lawyer was not. I paid them £170 on account. What should be my next steps?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them immediately so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Clydesdale 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 help.
I'm purchasing my first flat in Wimbledon with a mortgage from Nottingham Building Society. The builders would not reduce the price so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The property agent told me not inform my conveyancer about the extras as it may jeopardize my loan with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £305k and found one round the corner in Wimbledon I like with amenity areas and transport links nearby, however it only has 51 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Wimbledon suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?
If you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease may be an issue. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you may request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.
Is it possible to swap firm as I have to find a firm on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing list. I was using a local conveyancing solicitor in Wimbledon round the corner but she is not approved by Bank of Ireland
We will our best to assist in finding you a conveyancing solicitor in Wimbledon on the Bank of Ireland panel. Please note that the conveyancers that we on the directory do not pay us commission if you instruct them and are regulated by the SRA who regulate all conveyancing solicitors in Wimbledon. Using search facility on this website, you can scrutinise fees for conveyancing solicitors in Wimbledon and throughout England and Wales.
I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing solicitor in Wimbledon for my house move. Is there any facility to check a solicitor's record with the legal regulator?
Anyone may see published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions stemming from investigations from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For records Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors history, ring 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For callers outside the UK, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA may monitor telephone calls for training reasons.
I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Wimbledon where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Wimbledon conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?
As long as 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 need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, 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 buyer.
I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a Wimbledon conveyancing firm to represent me?
You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Wimbledon conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Wimbledon residence is 629 Garratt Lane in September 2014. The consideration payable for the acquisition of the freehold of the subject property was the sum £21,302.74. This represented a valuation of the freehold in the sum of £23,864 from which the sum of £2561.27 has been deducted in respect of certain costs in repairing and insuring the premises This case related to 3 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 72.94 years.