My wife and I are planning to buy a flat in Plaistow and have appointed a Plaistow conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Barnsley Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Plaistow conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Plaistow solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
I have been told that property searches are the primary cause of stalling in Plaistow house deals. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the determinations of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the top 10 causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are not likely to feature in any holding up conveyancing in Plaistow.
Are there any apps to assist me to locate a Plaistow solicitor on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel? I am a keen cyclist and am prepared to travel upto 20kilometers to meet the conveyancer.
Feel free to make use of the search on this website. Please pick a mortgage company and your location and you will see a number of Plaistow conveyancing lawyers locally. We have listed some Plaistow conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can ring them to see whether they are on the Clydesdale approved list
I wish to let out my leasehold flat in Plaistow. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?
Notwithstanding that your previous Plaistow conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.
My wife and I have hit a brick wall in seeking a lease extension in Plaistow. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
if there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to determine the premium.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Plaistow property is Ravensbourne Lodge 4 Highland Road in February 2013. the Tribunal held that the amount payable for the freehold was £22,268
Can I determine who owns a house in Plaistow?
As long as the premises is recorded at HMLR, and you have enough specifics of the location of the property, you should be able to obtain results from the the Land Registry of the registered proprietor for a a minimal charge.