My flat in Felixstowe is up for sale and I have accepted an offer. Will my lawyer have to be required to be on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their conditions fairly frequently at the moment.
Is there a list of RBS panel conveyancers in Felixstowe on the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Website?
No. There is no such directory service on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association sites. A small selection of banks make their panel listings available online. If you are seeking to appoint a Felixstowe conveyancing practitioner on the RBS please use our tool.
I have a mortgage with Bank of Ireland for my property in Felixstowe. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Bank of Ireland?
You must advise Bank of Ireland in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Bank of Ireland’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Bank of Ireland directly. You need not do this via a Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel solicitor.
Aldermore have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on a property in Felixstowe has been accepted, now what?
The estate agent will want to be informed of your property lawyer's details (ensure that the lawyers are on the bank’s panel). Contact Aldermore or your financial adviser and finish off any appropriate forms. Aldermore will instruct a valuer who will get in touch with the selling agent or seller to arrange an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes about a fortnight for the mortgage offer to be issued. Aldermore will send the offer to you and your property lawyers. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Felixstowe.
My wife and I have a renovated Georgian house in Felixstowe. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Lloyds TSB Bank. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the matching property. Is it worth asking Lloyds TSB Bank to clarify?
You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be 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 Felixstowe and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also question the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who carried out the work.
Is it best to choose a Felixstowe conveyancing lawyer based in the vicinity that I am purchasing? We have a good friend who can perform the legal work however his firm is located a couple of hundredkilometers drive away.
The primary upside of using a high street Felixstowe conveyancing firm is that you can attend the office to sign documents, hand in your identification documents and pester them if necessary. Having local Felixstowe know how is a bonus. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have used your friend and in the main were impressed that should trump using an unknown Felixstowe conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being local.
My fiance and I may need to sub-let our Felixstowe basement flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Felixstowe conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?
The lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will say if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Felixstowe do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.
I own a 2 bed flat in Felixstowe, conveyancing was carried out in 1999. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding properties in Felixstowe with an extended lease are worth £222,000. The ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2095
With just 70 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.