My conveyancer has discovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the apartment we are purchasing in Brixton. The seller’s lawyers have offered defective title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our property lawyer has advised that he must ensure that the mortgage company is content with this solution. Are we the client or is the lender?
Notwithstanding that you have a mortgage offer from the mortgage company does not mean to say that the property will meet their provisions for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. You and the bank are the client. These conveyancing instructions have to be complied with.
I have been referred to a conveyancing solicitor in Brixton. I I am struggling to find out if they are on the Coventry Building Society approved list of lawyers. Can you or the lender confirm if they are on the panel?
You should call your solicitor and enquire if they are on the lender panel. Alternatively you should get in touch with Coventry Building Society who may be able to confirm.
My wife and I own a terraced Georgian property in Brixton. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Yorkshire Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Brixton and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also question the position with the conveyancing lawyer who completed the work.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and identified one round the corner in Brixton I like with a park and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 51 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Brixton suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage that many years will likely be problematic. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this.
We're new on the property ladder - had an offer accepted, but the selling agent informed us that the seller will only proceed if we instruct their recommended lawyers as they need a ‘quick sale’. Our preferred option is to instruct a family solicitor who is familiar with conveyancing in Brixton
It is unlikely the owners are driving this. Should the vendor desire ‘a quick sale', alienating a motivated buyer is not the way to achieve this. Speak to the owners direct and explain that (a)you are serious buyers (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you have nothing to sell (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you are going to appoint your preferred Brixton conveyancing solicitors - not the ones that will earn the negotiator at the agency a commission or achieve conveyancing thresholds set by HQ.