How do I discover of the solicitor handling my conveyancing in Mitcham is on the bank’sconveyancing panel? I am looking to avoid the situation of having one lawyer for me and one for Nationwide Building Society thus spending £192.00 in further conveyancing bill.

Please do make the most of the search tool on this site. Please choose the mortgage company and type ‘Mitcham’ or your preferred area and you will be presented with a number of lawyer offices in Mitcham or nearest you.

I require fast conveyancing in Mitcham as I have an ultimatum to complete in less than 3 weeks. A home loan is not required. Is it possible to escape the need for conveyancing searches to save fees and time?

If.Given you are are a mortgage free purchaser you are at liberty not to have searches conducted although no conveyancer would recommend that you don't. Drawing on our experience of conveyancing in Mitcham the following are examples of what can crop up and therefore affect future saleability: Enforcement Notices, Outstanding Charges, Outstanding Grants, Unadopted Roads,...

Should I instruct a Mitcham conveyancing solicitor in close proximity to the house I am hoping to buy? We have a good friend who can carry out the legal work but they are based 300miles away.

The benefit of a high street Mitcham conveyancing practice is that you can visit the firm to execute paperwork, hand in your identification documents and apply pressure on them if necessary. Having local Mitcham know how is a benefit. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust instructed your friend and they were impressed that should outweigh using an unfamiliar Mitcham conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being based in the area.

I am looking at a two flats in Mitcham which have approximately forty five years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Mitcham is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the property. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Mitcham conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

After years of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Mitcham. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

if there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to decide the price payable.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Mitcham flat is 50 & 52 Southcroft Road in September 2013. The tribunals own valuation determined that the premium payable should be £29,000 This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 86.11 and 60.64.

My nephew is just in the process of moving house, the home loan was agreed last week in principle. After the offer was accepted on house we telephoned the lender to progress the mortgage application. I was very surprised to hear that banks do not accept all solicitor, they have to be on a list, is this legal?

Banks normally restrict either the type or the number of conveyancing firms on their panel. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that lenders have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Mitcham conveyancing practitioner on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Unlikely.