My partner and I are hoping to purchase a flat in Aperfield and have appointed a Aperfield conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Alliance & Leicester have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Aperfield conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the purchaser's lender. 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 mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Aperfield lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Our grandson is in the process of securing a house that has just been built in Aperfield with a home loan from Barclays. His conveyancer has said that there is a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?
The form is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Barclays conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Barclays conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
We're in Aperfield, First timers buying with a mortgage (lender is Lloyds , and our lawyer is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no property lawyer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
Completion of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Aperfield. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I would like to complain about the lender. How do I make a complaint?
Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Department at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are sorted out effectively and efficiently. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.
After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Aperfield. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an upfront payment of £175. Shortly after, the solicitor contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Kent Reliance 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 Kent Reliance 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.
I have finally had an offer on an apartment in Aperfield agreed to, but there is a chain. The owners have offered on a property, but it’s not yet agreed to, and have viewings of other properties in the pipeline. I have selected a local conveyancing solicitor in Aperfield. What do I do now? At what stage do I apply for the mortgage with Leeds Building Society?
It is normal to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (home loan application is approx one thousand pounds, then survey, Aperfield conveyancing search charges, etc). The first course of action is to ensure that your conveyancer is on the Leeds Building Society approved list. Regarding the subsequent stages this very much depends on the specifics of your case, motivation for this property and on the state of the market. During a rising market many home buyers would apply for a home loan with Leeds Building Society and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they ask their conveyancing practitioner to move forward with the conveyancing in Aperfield.
Am I right to be concerned that estate agents that I am dealing with are suggesting a web based conveyancing firm rather than a local Aperfield conveyancing company?
As with many professional services, often recommendations from family and friends can be most helpful. Nevertheless there are lots of people with a keen interest in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, mortgage brokers and lenders may suggest lawyers to choose. Sometimes the solicitors might be known to one of the organisations as experts in their field, but sometimes there might be a commercial relationship behind the endorsement. You are at liberty to appoint your preferred conveyancer. You need to be aware that the majority of mortgage providers specify a panel list of lawyers you have to use for the mortgage related work in your conveyancing.
Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in Aperfield. Conveyancing has not commenced, however I have recently received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?
Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the invoice as you normally would given that all ground rent and service payments should be allotted on completion, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can I apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Aperfield conveyancing firm to represent me?
Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Aperfield conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Aperfield flat is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 50.57 years.