My wife and I are looking to acquire a property in Woodford Green and are in fact using a Woodford Green conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Halifax have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Woodford Green solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the purchaser's lender. 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 solicitor 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 lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Woodford Green solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
My fiance and I are refinancing our apartment in Woodford Green with UBS. We have a son 19 who lives with us. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this document specific to the UBS conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we purchased 3 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your UBS conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to UBS. This is solely used to protect UBS if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of UBS had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
Is there a reason why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Woodford Green is more expensive?
Woodford Green leasehold properties involve far more paperwork than a freehold purchase, and therefore takes more time to examine and advise upon.Conveyancing will involve the lease having to be checked which is usually a lengthy document, queries raised to ensure that the covenants and conditions have been observed. If it is a flat there will be a management company in existence and the accounts of this will need to be checked and enquiries raised to ensure it is operating efficiently and that all monies due have been paid by the Seller to the company and if not ensuring that money is paid up to date or the appropriate undertakings obtained.
Do I need to pay for insurance to address the risk of chancel repairs when buying a property in Woodford Green?
Unless a previous purchase of the premises took place post 12 October 2013 you can assume that lawyers carrying out conveyancing in Woodford Green to remain encouraging a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Woodford Green in advance of instructing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. Our surveyor has said that some banks tend refuse to grant a loan on a flying freehold premises.
It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different instructions for example to Halifax. If you contact us we can look into this further with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Woodford Green. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have since been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Woodford Green. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Woodford Green ?
Most houses in Woodford Green are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Woodford Green in which case you should be shopping around for a Woodford Green conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.
I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a Woodford Green conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?
if there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the LVT to judgment on the price.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Woodford Green property is 201 & 201a St. Barnabas Road in October 2013. The Tribunal decided that the price to be paid by the Applicants for the freehold interest is £20,071. This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 69.26 years.