My husband and I are planning to purchase a flat in Primrose Hill and are in fact using a Primrose Hill conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Nationwide Building Society have this morning contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Primrose Hill conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. 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 mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Primrose Hill lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
The Primrose Hill conveyancing firm that just started acting on my purchase in Primrose Hill have suddenly closed. I only went with them because I had to have a solicitor on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel and my previous Primrose Hill lawyer was not. I issued them a cheque for two hundred pounds in advance. What are my options?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers may be able to assist.
I am purchasing a house and the conveyancer has identified Chancel Repair for which the house could be liable because it falls into the area of such a church. He has recommended insurance. Is this really appropriate for conveyancing in Primrose Hill
Unless a prior purchase of the house completed post 12 October 2013 you can take it that conveyancing practitioners delivering conveyancing in Primrose Hill to remain encouraging a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
How does conveyancing in Primrose Hill differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Primrose Hill approach us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is finished. This is because new home sellers in Primrose Hill usually acquire the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Primrose Hill or who has acted in the same development.
I own a leasehold house in Primrose Hill. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Primrose Hill who previously acted has long since retired. Any advice?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Primrose Hill conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can a leaseholder make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Primrose Hill conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?
if there is a missing landlord or where 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 sum to be paid.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Primrose Hill property is Flat 2 27 Mackeson Road in December 2012. The Tribunal assessed the value of the lease extension premium at £35,435 and rounded the figure to £35,500 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 64.77 years.