I am obtaining a offer of a home loan from Halifax. I hope to employ the services of a Licensed Conveyancer in Peckham. Does the Halifax Conveyancing panel include conveyancers regulated by the CLC?
The Halifax conveyancing panel is, like many other lenders, associated to the Council or Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the CLC.
Due to complete my purchase in Peckham next Friday. I have now been asked to send a copy of my building insurance schedule by my solicitor as as she informs me that she is duty bound to validate that it is in order for the bank. What risks does the mortgage company expect the insurance to cover?
All property lawyers on acting for mortgage companies would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in a lender’s Part 2 conditions. These obligations are not limited to conveyancing in Peckham.
My property lawyer in Peckham has never been on on the Birmingham Midshires Approved Panel. Is it possible for me to continue with my prefered solicitor even though they are not on the Birmingham Midshires panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
The limited options available to you here include:
- Carry on with your existing Peckham solicitors but Birmingham Midshires will need to use a conveyancer on their panel. This will result in additional overall conveyancing fees and cause frustration.
- Choose an alternative lawyer to to deal with the purchase, not forgetting to check they are on the Birmingham Midshires panel
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and found one round the corner in Peckham I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, however it's only got 61 years on the lease. There is not much else in Peckham for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?
Should you need a home loan the shortness of the lease will be problematic. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you can ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this.
Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Peckham from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Peckham can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers’ lawyers. Some Peckham leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers. If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Peckham home move. If a new share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible. If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Peckham leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Where you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.
Having spent years of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Peckham. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Peckham conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Peckham property is 31 Kings Grove in January 2012. By a claim form issued on 11" August 2011 under action number 1LB01618 in the Lambeth County Court the applicant tenants sought dispensation under section 26 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 from the requirement to serve a notice under section 13 of that Act in order to purchase the freehold of the premises. The Tribunal decided the amount payable for the freehold as £10,728 This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired term was 80.5 years.