My solicitor has discovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the property we are buying in East Dulwich. The other side have put forward title insurance as a solution. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our conveyancer says that he must ensure that the bank is willing to move forward with this solution. Are we the client or is the bank?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the mortgage company are the client. Your solicitor must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the mortgage company can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your conveyancing practitioner will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
Why do I have to pay up front for conveyancing in East Dulwich?
Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in East Dulwich your solicitor will ask you place them with monies to cover the search fees. This will be the total of the cost of the conveyancing searches. If any down payment is as part of the purchase price then this should be asked for shortly prior to exchange of contracts. The final balance that is due should be sent to your lawyer shortly before completion.
three months have gone by following my purchase conveyancing in East Dulwich completed. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £180,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
I have been recommended by numerous selling agents in East Dulwich to select a solicitor on your site. Is there a financial advantage for Estate Agents to recommend your services rather than a competitor’s?
We refuse to offer any referral fee for directing people to this site. We found it would be just too difficult a fee because a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
Last August I purchased a leasehold property in East Dulwich. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?
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. Strange as it may seem, 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).
Despite our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in East Dulwich. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the sum to be paid.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a East Dulwich property is Flat 1 40-42 Ewelme Road in August 2012. the Tribunal assessed the premium for the lease extension in the sum of £11,800 This case related to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 61.81 years.