I am getting a mortgage offer from Halifax. My intention is to enlist the help of a Licensed Conveyancer in Swiss Cottage. Does the Halifax Conveyancing panel include conveyancers regulated by the CLC?
The Halifax approved solicitor list is, like many other lenders, represented by the CML or BSA, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the CLC.
It is is a decade since I bought my property in Swiss Cottage. Conveyancing lawyers have just been retained on the sale but I can't locate the title documents. Will this cause complications?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly there is a possibility that the deeds will be kept by the lender or they may be in the possession of the conveyancers who acted in your purchase. Secondly in all probability the land will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors obtaining current official copies of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Swiss Cottage relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is unregistered it is more of a problem but is not insurmountable.
How does conveyancing in Swiss Cottage differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Swiss Cottage come to us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is constructed. This is because new home sellers in Swiss Cottage typically buy the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Swiss Cottage or who has acted in the same development.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one near me in Swiss Cottage I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it only has 61 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Swiss Cottage for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be problematic. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you may request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this.
Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Swiss Cottage. Before diving in I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.
If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Swiss Cottage - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can I apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Swiss Cottage conveyancing firm to assist?
Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the amount due.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Swiss Cottage premises is First Floor Flat 20 Fitzjohns Avenue in July 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premiums to be paid for new leases in respect of the Raised Ground Floor Flat and the First Floor Flat were to be calculated as: Raised Ground Floor: £765,175.14 First Floor: £601,617.77 This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired term was 16.83 and 16.43.