My partner and I are purchasing a newly constructed duplex in Plumstead and my conveyancer is advising me that she is duty bound to the lender to reveal incentives from the builder. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to exchange contracts and I would rather not delay matters. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your solicitor. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
Is it the case that all Plumstead CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the RBS conveyancing list of approved practices?
A selection of banks and building societies now make use of CQS as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to remain on their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
My wife and I have organised a further advance on our mortgage from Leeds Building Society as we intend to carry out a loft conversion to our property in Plumstead. Do we need to choose a high street Plumstead solicitor on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel to handle the paperwork?
Leeds Building Society would not normally require a member of their approved list of lawyers to deal with such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Leeds Building Society list.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Plumstead. My financial adviser suggested a conveyancing practitioner. I paid an upfront payment of £175. A couple of days later, the lawyer called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Lloyds panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
Will our lawyer be making enquiries about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Plumstead.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers dealing with homes in Plumstead. Plenty of people will purchase a property in Plumstead, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical damage, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate building insurance, or sell the property. Steps can be carried out during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Conveyancers are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, but there are a various checks that can be initiated by the buyer or by their conveyancers which can give them a better understanding of the risks in Plumstead. The conventional set of information supplied to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a standard inquiry of the seller to discover if the property has suffered from flooding. In the event that flooding has previously occurred which is not disclosed by the vendor, then a buyer could commence a claim for damages as a result of such an incorrect response. A buyer’s lawyers should also carry out an enviro report. This should disclose whether there is any known flood risk. If so, more detailed investigations will need to be conducted.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and identified one close by in Plumstead I like with amenity areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Plumstead suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you require a mortgage that many years may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.
I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Plumstead where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Plumstead conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has been the owner 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. 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.
Having spent years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Plumstead. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
Where there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the premium.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Plumstead flat is 103a Footscray Road in January 2014. The tribunal determines that the premium payable for the extended lease should be £34,500 according to the expert witness valuation calculation This case related to 1 flat.