My husband and I are hoping to buy a flat in Woodhouse and Handsworth and are in fact using a Woodhouse and Handsworth conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Alliance & Leicester have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Woodhouse and Handsworth lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Woodhouse and Handsworth solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
My wife and I are due to complete buying a property in Woodhouse and Handsworth but as a consequence of damage from the recent storms I have managed to agree compensation from the current proprietors of £3k by way of a reduction in the price. I had intended this to be addressed as part of a side agreement but Co-operative are not allowing this. Why were they involved?
The lawyer that is on a Co-operative conveyancing panel is required to disclose to Co-operative of any amendments to the purchase price. If you were to refuse your conveyancer to disclose the reduction to Co-operative then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Co-operative and you would have to appoint a new property lawyer for your conveyancing in Woodhouse and Handsworth.
I purchased a freehold property in Woodhouse and Handsworth but still charged rent, why is this and what is this?
It is rare for properties in Woodhouse and Handsworth and has limited impact for conveyancing in Woodhouse and Handsworth but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back many centuries, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the generation of new rentcharges post 1977.
Old rentcharges can now be redeemed by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence after 2037 will be dispensed with completely.
The Woodhouse and Handsworth conveyancing lawyers that I appointed last week on my purchase in Woodhouse and Handsworth have suddenly closed. I chose them because I needed a lawyer on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel and my previous Woodhouse and Handsworth lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take £195 for searches. What should be my next steps?
If you have an estate agent involved then let them know straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will 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 Virgin Money 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 solicitors should be in a position to help.
In what way does the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 affect my business premises in Woodhouse and Handsworth and how can you help?
The particular law that you refer to affords protection to commercial lessees, granting the right to make a request to court for a continuation of occupancy at the end of an expired lease. There are certain specified grounds that a landlord can refrain from granting a lease renewal and the rules are involved. We are happy to direct you to commercial conveyancing firms who use the act to your advantage and help with commercial conveyancing in Woodhouse and Handsworth