My conveyancer has uncovered a defect with the lease for the property we are buying in Collier Row. The other side have suggested defective title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our conveyancing practitioner has advised that he must ensure that the mortgage company is content with this solution. Are we the client or is the lender?

The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the bank are the client. Your property lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the bank can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your conveyancer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.

What is the difference between a licensed conveyancer and conveyancing solicitor in Collier Row

There are many recorded licenced Conveyancers in Collier Row and Solicitor firms in Collier Row who provide Conveyancing services It is important to make clear that the two are supervised by regulatory bodies with both specialising in the legal aspects of transferring property. They may both also conduct other property legal work such as remortgage conveyancing, lease extensions and transfer of equity conveyancing.

My bid for a property was accepted at auction in Collier Row. Conveyancing is required. What are my next steps?

Now that you have exchanged you now have to retain a conveyancing solicitor soon as you are facing a fast approaching a drop dead date to complete the property. Every auction property should have a bespoke legal pack. This will likely include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. If you have purchased leasehold premises the conveyancing papers should include a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing documentation pertinent to leasehold premises. You must give this to the lawyer working for you as soon as possible. You also need to ensure that you have funds in order to complete the transaction on the set completion date.

We are getting the release of further funds on our home loan from Nottingham as we intend to conduct a loft conversion to our house in Collier Row. Are we obliged to choose a nearby Collier Row solicitor on the Nottingham conveyancing panel to handle the legals?

Nottingham would not normally require firms on their approved list of lawyers to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Nottingham conveyancing panel.

A colleague suggested that where I am buying in Collier Row I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Collier Row conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Collier Row around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Collier Row.

How does conveyancing in Collier Row differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build premises in Collier Row approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is built. This is because builders in Collier Row tend to purchase the site, 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 property lawyers 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 Collier Row or who has acted in the same development.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Collier Row both have about forty five years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Collier Row is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the premises. For most buyers and banks, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Collier Row conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Collier Row conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

if there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Collier Row premises is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 57.5 years.