The Woodside Park conveyancing lawyers that I recently instructed on my house acquisition in Woodside Park have without warning shut down. I only went with them because I needed a solicitor on the Principality conveyancing panel and my preferred Woodside Park lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take £195 for searches. What are my options?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know straight away 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 will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Principality 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 should be in a position to assist.
Can you point me to a directory of HSBC panel conveyancers in Woodside Park on the Building Society Association’s Website?
No. There is no such directory service on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. A small selection of banks make their panel listings open the public on the web. Where you are looking for a Woodside Park lawyer on the HSBC please make the most of our facility.
It is not clear whether my mortgage offer requires a lease extension. I have telephoned my Woodside Park bank branch on numerous occasions and was advised it wasn't an issue and they will lend. My Woodside Park conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- called and was told they refuse to lend in accordance with their specific requirements. I have no idea who is right.
The solicitor has to comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook Part 2 conditions for your lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
Having read lots of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Woodside Park solicitor - who is on the Principality conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Principality will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Principality will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your conveyancing practitioner will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Woodside Park postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Principality, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Woodside Park.
Will our solicitor be raising enquiries concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Woodside Park.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for solicitors dealing with homes in Woodside Park. Plenty of people will purchase a property in Woodside Park, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical destruction, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or dispose of the property. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.
Solicitors are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a number of checks that can be undertaken by the purchaser or by their conveyancers which should give them a better understanding of the risks in Woodside Park. The standard property information forms supplied to a buyer’s lawyer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) incorporates a standard question of the vendor to discover whether the property has suffered from flooding. If the premises has been flooded in past and is not revealed by the vendor, then a purchaser may bring a legal claim for losses stemming from an inaccurate answer. A purchaser’s solicitors may also carry out an enviro report. This should indicate whether there is any known flood risk. If so, additional inquiries will need to be carried out.
I have todaydiscovered that Arc property Solicitors have closed. They conducted my conveyancing in Woodside Park for a purchase of a leasehold flat 9 months ago. How can I be sure that the property is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?
The easiest method to see if the property is in your name, you can carry out 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 Woodside Park conveyancing specialists.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on last month in what should have been a quick, no chain conveyancing. Woodside Park is where the house is located. Is there any advice you can impart?
Flying freeholds in Woodside Park are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Woodside Park you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Woodside Park may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.
I've recently bought a leasehold property in Woodside Park. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
Notwithstanding our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in negotiating a lease extension in Woodside Park. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement 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 LVT to decide the price.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Woodside Park premises is Flat 2 2 Netherfield Road in April 2010. The Tribunale held that premium payable for a 90 year extension to the existing Lease should be £7,705. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 76 years.