We are only a couple days away from an exchange on a house in The Hale and my mum and dad have sent the ten percent deposit to my property lawyer. I am now told that as the deposit has not arrived from me my conveyancing practitioner needs to disclose this to my mortgage company. I am advised that, in also acting for the lender he must advise them that the balance of the purchase price is not just from me. I advised the lender concerning my parents' contribution when I applied for the home loan, so is it really appropriate for him to raise this?
The conveyancing practitioner is legally required to check with mortgage company to ensure that they understand that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own resources. The solicitor can only disclose this to your mortgage company if you permit them to, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
Finally the sale completed on my house in The Hale last July yet the purchaser is texting me to moan that his solicitor needs to hear from mine. What are the post completion sale legalities following completion?
After completion of your sale your solicitor is duty bound to deliver the transfer deeds and all additional paperwork to the purchaser's lawyers. If applicable, your lawyer should also send confirmation that the home loan has been redeemed to the purchasers conveyancers. There is unlikely to be post completion tasks peculiar conveyancing in The Hale.
I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in The Hale. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £225. Shortly after, the lawyer called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Santander 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 Santander 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.
Having read lots of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local The Hale solicitor - who is on the Co-operative conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Co-operative will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Co-operative will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your conveyancing practitioner will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your The Hale postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Co-operative, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in The Hale.
Coventry BS have agreed my mortgage in principle, my bid on a house in The Hale has been accepted, what are the next steps?
Your property agent will need to know who your solicitors are (make sure the solicitors are on the lender’s approved list). Telephone Coventry BS or the broker and finish off any appropriate forms. Coventry BS will instruct a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or vendor to book an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes on average ten days for the mortgage offer to be issued. Coventry BS will issue the offer to you and your lawyers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in The Hale.
I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing solicitor in The Hale for my house move. Is there any facility to check a solicitor's record with the profession’s regulator?
Members of the public can review published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations resulting from inquisitions from 2008 onwards. Go to Check a solicitor's record. To find information Pre 2008, or to check a firm's history, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For non-uk callers, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA sometimes monitor telephone calls for training purposes.
Last April I purchased a leasehold flat in The Hale. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I am the leaseholder of a ground floor flat in The Hale. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium due for a lease extension?
Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the premium.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a The Hale property is 20 Orchard Court Stonegrove in June 2009. The tribunal decided that a premium of £11,040 should be payable for the new lease This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 71.55 years.