I am need of leasehold conveyancing for an apartment in a fairly new development (five years built) in Guildford. 95% of the flats are already sold. Is it really necessary to order neighbourhood searches as part of conveyancing in Guildford?
Where you are obtaining a mortgage, your lender will need some (many) of the searches so you'll have no choice. If not, then Guildford conveyancing searches are optional. Your solicitor, will ’encourage’, perhaps strongly, that you should have the searches done, but he or she is duty bound in this regard. One thing to bear in mind; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it may be of interest to your future buyer what the searches contain. Sometimes houses with no practical issues can still throw up adverse search results. But if you demand that your lawyer to proceed without searches then your lawyer will have to follow your instructions or you will need to change to an alternative solicitor for your conveyancing in Guildford.
My property lawyer in Guildford has never been on on the The Mortgage Works Solicitor Panel. Is it possible for me to continue with my prefered solicitor even though they are not on the The Mortgage Works panel?
The limited options available to you here include:
- Complete the purchase with your preferred Guildford solicitors but The Mortgage Works will need to use a solicitor on their panel. This will result in additional total conveyancing charges and result in delays.
- Choose a new solicitor to to deal with the purchase, remembering to check they are on the The Mortgage Works panel
Can you point me to a directory of UBS panel solicitors in Guildford on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?
Unfortunately not yet. There is no such facility on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. Very few lending institutions make their panel listings open the public on the web. If you are in need of a Guildford conveyancer on the UBS please use our tool.
I have paid off my mortgage with HSBC. I assume I don't need a Guildford conveyancer on the HSBC panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your HSBC mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the HSBC mortgage from the register. HSBC, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where HSBC has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- HSBC has instructed the Land Registry to do so
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Guildford. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an on account payment of £175. Soon after, the lawyer called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the TSB 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 TSB 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.
What does a local search reveal about the house we're buying in Guildford?
Guildford conveyancing often starts with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search organisations for instance PSG The local search plays a central part in many a Guildford conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any unpleasant surprises after you move into your property. The search will reveal information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen subject areas.
I am buying a new build house in Guildford with a loan from TSB. The developers refused to reduce the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not reveal to my solicitor about this deal as it may adversely affect my mortgage with the lender. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I am a sole trader looking to lease a unit on a shopping parade. Can you recommend solicitors offering competitive costs for commercial conveyancing in Guildford for less than £2000?
We are happy to recommend firms who have an in-depth of experience of commercial conveyancing in Guildford, including the sale and purchase of businesses as well as simply premises. If you are intending to buy or lease a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail premises or a whole business we can put you in touch with the right lawyer. Regarding the charges these will vary based on the structure and terms of the deal. Let us have your details or email us so that we may furnish you with comprehensive commercial conveyancing quote.