My partner and I are nearing an exchange on a property in St Luke's and my parents have sent the exchange deposit to my conveyancer. I am now advised that as the deposit has not come from me my conveyancing practitioner needs to make a notification to my lender. I am advised that, in also acting for the bank he must advise them that the balance of the purchase price is coming from anyone other than me. I informed the lender about my parents' contribution when I applied for the mortgage, so is it really necessary for him to raise this?
The property lawyer is duty bound to check with lender to ensure that they understand that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own resources. The solicitor can only notify this to your bank if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in St Luke's prior to retaining lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. The surveyor has said that some lenders tend not issue a loan on such a premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions for example to Halifax. If you contact us we can look into this further with the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in St Luke's. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in St Luke's especially if they are acquainted with such properties in St Luke's.
I have been advised by a few property agents in St Luke's to find a solicitor on your site. Is there a financial upside for Estate Agents to promote your site over alternative conveyancing organisations?
We refuse to offer any referral fee for directing people in our direction. We found it would be just too difficult to pay a commission because members of the public would think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
There are only 62 years unexpired on my flat in St Luke's. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?
On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing St Luke's.
I have given up trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in St Luke's. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
Where there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the price.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a St Luke's residence is 137 & 139 Haberdasher Street in December 2013. The Tribunal determines in accordance with section 48 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease for each Property should be £12,350.00. This case related to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 72.39 years.
Do online conveyancing organisations do everything a high street St Luke's solicitor does or do I still need to employ a solicitor for the final stages for my conveyancing in St Luke's?
If you choose an online conveyancer they should undertake all the tasks your St Luke's solicitor would cover.