Me and my partner are soon to exchange buying a property in Stepney but as a result of damage from a small fire at the property I have managed to agree reparation from the vendor in the sum of £3k in the form of a deduction in the price. I had intended this to be addressed as part of amending the contract however Nationwide will not permit this. Should they have been notified?
Your property lawyer being on a Nationwide approved list is duty bound to advise Nationwide of any amendments to the sale price. If you were to refuse your property lawyer to notify the price change to Nationwide then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Nationwide and you would have to appoint a new conveyancing practitioner for your conveyancing in Stepney.
If you had a top tip for choosing a conveyancing solicitor in Stepney what would it be?
Do not opt for the lowest Stepney conveyancing fees. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.
We previously appointed conveyancers based in Stepney on the Principality solicitor panel. They have just billed me a further charge for handling the Principality mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Principality?
Unfortunately, so long as it is in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your lawyer may charge a fee for this. The charge is not set by Principality but by your Stepney conveyancer. Plenty of firms on the Principality panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
I have a mortgage with UBS for my property in Stepney. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform UBS?
Your original mortgage agreement with UBS will provide that you need their approval in advance of renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of UBS’s mortgage conditions. It may be that UBS will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact UBS directly. You need not do this via a UBS conveyancing panel firm.
A relative advised me that if I am buying in Stepney I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is occasionally included in the estimate for your Stepney conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out important information about Stepney 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 type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Stepney.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £305k and identified one close by in Stepney I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, however it's only got 52 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Stepney suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
If you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be problematic. Reduce the price by the anticipated 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 may ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Stepney where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Stepney conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such issues? Can you recommend a Stepney conveyancing firm to represent me?
Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to judgment on the amount due.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Stepney premises is 12, 14 & 16 Hull Close in May 2010. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the acquisition of the freehold to the subject premises was the sum of £18,300 This case was in relation to 3 flats. The unexpired term was 101.61 years.