Me and my partner are buying a 2 bedroom apartment in East Croydon with a mortgage. We like our East Croydon conveyancer, but the mortgage company advise he's not on their "panel". It appears that we have no option but to instruct one of the lender panel firms or continue with our East Croydon property lawyer and pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your East Croydon conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Why is leasehold purchase conveyancing in East Croydon costs more?
East Croydon leasehold conveyancing transactions usually involve additional investigations than freeholds including investigating the Lease, liaising with the Landlord such as serving relevant notices on the Landlord or managing agent, obtaining up-to-date service charge and management information, obtaining Landlord’s consents and reviewing management accounts and formation documents.
I am downsizing from our home in East Croydon and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was constructed land that was not decontaminated. Any high street East Croydon conveyancer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers are using a factory type conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in East Croydon. Having lived in East Croydon for six years we know that this is a non issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to seek clarification that there is no issue.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. What do they say? You need to enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same sickness)
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and found one close by in East Croydon I like with open areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in East Croydon for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will be problematic. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you could request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
I need to retain a conveyancing solicitor for my conveyancing in East Croydon. I've land on a web site which looks to be the perfect offering If there is a chance to get all this stuff completed via email that would be preferable. Do I need to be wary? What should out be looking out for?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?