I do hope you can help me. My Old Stratford solicitor is advising me that he is legally obliged toapply for Old Stratford conveyancing searches stemming from the fact thatthe firm are on the Nat Westconveyancing panel. Do I not have a choice here?
Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. Given that you are taking out a loan with a mortgage company your conveyancing practitioner has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your property lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your lender’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook conditions . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Old Stratford conveyancing searches.
We previously chose conveyancers based in Old Stratford on the HSBC solicitor approved list. They have just billed me a further charge for handling the HSBC mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set by HSBC?
As unfair as it may appear, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your conveyancing practitioner can levy a fee for this. The charge is not set by HSBC but by your Old Stratford lawyer. Plenty of firms on the HSBC panel will levy an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
I was told three weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Santander. Is it usual for Santander to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Old Stratford is approved on their conveyancing panel? Santander have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their PI Insurance.
A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Santander to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Santander conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Our offer on a property in Old Stratford has been agreed to, but there is a chain. The owners have offered on a property, however it’s not been accepted yet, and are looking at other properties booked. I have selected a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in Old Stratford. What do I do now? At what stage do I apply for the mortgage with Lloyds?
It is normal to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (home loan application is in the region of £1k, then survey, Old Stratford conveyancing search costs, etc). First, you must ensure that your lawyer is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. As to the next stages this very much depends on the specifics of your case, motivation for the property and on the state of the market. In a buoyant market many home buyers would apply for a home loan with Lloyds and pay for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they pay their conveyancing practitioner to press on with searches.
I used Action Conveyancing a few years past for my conveyancing in Old Stratford. Now, I need the files but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Old Stratford of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in Old Stratford I like with open areas and railway links nearby, however it's only got 51 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Old Stratford suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
If you require a home loan that many years will be an issue. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you may ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
I'm refinancing my existing house to a BTL loan with Chelsea Building Society and intend to use the remaining equity as a deposit on a second property. The neighborhood we are looking at is Old Stratford. Will your lawyers be able to act for both sets of mortgage companies and link together the conveyances?
Do use our search tool on this page to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panels. On the basis that they are the lawyer will be able to simultaneously deal with the two transactions but you should talk with you solicitor and make apparent your desired outcome and needs.
My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Old Stratford. Conveyancing and Birmingham Midshires mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Old Stratford who previously acted has long since retired. What should I do?
The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Old Stratford conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
I acquired a ground floor flat in Old Stratford, conveyancing formalities finalised August 2003. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Old Stratford with an extended lease are worth £179,000. The ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2081
With 57 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £26,600 and £30,800 as well as professional fees.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.