My husband and I are purchasing a 2 bedroom apartment in Beckenham with a mortgage. We like our Beckenham solicitor, but the lender advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel conveyancing practices or keep our Beckenham property lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you 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. A further alternative is for your Beckenham conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
The Beckenham conveyancing lawyers that I recently instructed on my house acquisition in Beckenham have suddenly closed. I only went with them because I had to have a solicitor on the Santander conveyancing panel and my family Beckenham lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take one hundred and fifty pounds for searches. What do I do now?
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 will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Santander 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 help.
Various web forums that I have come across warn that are a common reason for obstruction in Beckenham conveyancing transactions. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the conclusions of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the top 10 causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are unlikely to be the root cause of delay in conveyancing in Beckenham.
I would like to let out my leasehold flat in Beckenham. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?
Your lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Beckenham do not contain subletting altogether – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.
I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Beckenham conveyancing firm to assist?
Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Beckenham conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Beckenham premises is 26 Manor Road in July 2010. the Tribunal decided that price to be paid for the freehold was £12,420 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 76.75 and 88.83.
I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Beckenham.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have recently received a yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?
Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the service charge as normal as all ground rent and maintenance invoices should be allottedon completion, so you will be reimbursed by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process