My mortgage broker says he needs my Moorgate lawyer’ panel member for the Santander conveyancing panel. Can you suggest how I find this out. I have e-mailed my local Moorgate office but they don't know it.
Have you tried speaking to your Moorgate conveyancing practitioner about this?. They keep a central record lender panel numbers.
My conveyancer has discovered a a problem with the lease for the property we are purchasing in Moorgate. The seller’s lawyers have put forward title insurance as a solution. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our lawyer says that he must be satisfied that the lender is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the mortgage company ?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the lender are the client. Your property lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the mortgage company can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
Am I best advised to appoint a Moorgate conveyancing lawyer based in the area that I am hoping to buy? We have a good friend who can carry out the legal work however they are based 200miles away.
The primary upside of using a local Moorgate conveyancing practice is that you can pop in to sign paperwork, hand in your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Moorgate know how is a benefit. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If other friends have instructed your friend and the majority were impressed that should surpass using an unknown Moorgate conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being local.
I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Moorgate where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Moorgate conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.
Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
I inherited a first flat in Moorgate. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium due for a lease extension?
Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Moorgate conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Moorgate property 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 affected 2 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 72.39 years.
I need to change lawyers as my Moorgate lawyer is not on the bank's approved list of conveyancing solicitors. Is it practical to instruct different lawyers?
In the event that you have not formally instructed a conveyancer to do anything for you and at this stage simply received quotes, you're perfectly free to choose a different solicitor to carry out your work for you. The best way is to get recommendations from friends or family who have actually used the solicitor or conveyancer in Moorgate that you're thinking of instructing.