My lawyer in Hatton is not on the Bank of Scotland Conveyancing Panel. Can I still retain my family solicitor even though they are excluded from the Bank of Scotland list of approved lawyers?
Your options are as follows:
- Carry on with your preferred Hatton lawyers but Bank of Scotland will need to use a conveyancer on their list of acceptable firms. This will inevitably rack up the overall legal fees and result in frustration.
- Choose an alternative lawyer to act in the purchase, remembering to check they are Bank of Scotland approved.
- Persuade your Bank of Scotland solicitor to seek to join the Bank of Scotland panel
Is it necessary to take out insurance to cover chancel repairs when buying a residence in Hatton?
Unless a prior purchase of the house completed post 12 October 2013 you may assume that lawyers delivering conveyancing in Hatton to remain recommending a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and found one close by in Hatton I like with open areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it only has 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Hatton suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least 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 and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.
I have just appointed agents to market my basement apartment in Hatton. Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon, but I have recently had a yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?
It best that you pay the maintenance contribution as normal as all ground rent and maintenance invoices will be apportioned on completion, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in Hatton. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
if there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the sum to be paid.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Hatton property is 147 Redford Close in June 2012. The Tribunal determined the lease extension premium to be at £4,200 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 82.93 years.
I am an executor of my recently deceased aunt’s Will, with a bungalow in Hatton which is to be sold. The bungalow has never been registered at the Land Registry and I'm told that many estate agents will insist that it is completed before they will move forward. What's the mechanism for this?
In the situation you refer to it seems advisable to apply to register in the names of the personal representative(s) as named in the probate and in their capacity as PRs. The Land Registry’s online guidance explains how to register for the first time and what is required re the deeds and forms. You would need to include and certified copy of the probate as well and complete the form FR1 to refer to the PRs as the applicant.