I am in the process of selling my flat in Acrefair and the estate agent has just e-mailed to say that the buyers are switching law firm. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a big named mortgage company only deal with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Acrefair ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms they are content to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Nationwide, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 15 years.
Lenders attribute this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
We are about to exchange contracts for a leasehold flat in Acrefair. We encountered a stumbling block. Our loan offer with Clydesdale runs out on 28/9/2026 but the sellers are suggesting a completion date of 30/9/2026. Can one extend the mortgage offer?
The best person to deal with your issue is your solicitors who will hopefully calculate if they should be discussing with the lender, owner’s lawyers, selling agents or conceivably all three given what has gone on in your transaction as of today.
My uncle passed away last year and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Acrefair. The house had a relatively small loan left on it of around £4500. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Santander, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?
Given you intend to refinance then Santander will require that you use a conveyancer on the Santander conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Santander conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Santander mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
Is it the case that all Acrefair solicitors on the RBS conveyancing panel are governed by the SRA?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the RBS conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the SRA. Some lenders do list licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such practice would be governed by the CLC.
We previously appointed conveyancing lawyers located in Acrefair on the Bank of Ireland solicitor approved list. They have just invoiced me an additional fee for handling the Bank of Ireland mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Bank of Ireland?
Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your solicitor may charge a fee for this. The charge is not dictated by Bank of Ireland but by your Acrefair lawyer. Some firms on the Bank of Ireland panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee but plenty of firms incorporate it on their overall fee.
My partner and I have arranged a further advance on our home loan from Virgin Money as we intend to conduct alterations to our house in Acrefair. Do we need to appoint a bricks and mortar Acrefair solicitor on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel to handle the legals?
Virgin Money don't usually appoint firms on their conveyancing panel to handle the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Virgin Money panel.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my property are lost. The lawyers who conducted the conveyancing in Acrefair 5 years ago have long since closed. What are my next steps?
As long as you have a registered title the information relating to your proprietorship will be retained by HMLR with a Title Number. It is possible to execute a search at the Land Registry, identify your property and secure up to date copies of the property title for a small fee. Where the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually retain a file duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for a small fee.
I have just appointed agents to market my basement flat in Acrefair. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed, but I have recently had a quarterly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?
Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the maintenance contribution as usual because all ground rent and service charges should be apportioned 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 managing agents 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 inherited a leasehold flat in Acrefair, conveyancing formalities finalised December 2012. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable properties in Acrefair with over 90 years remaining are worth £201,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease ends on 21st October 2091
With 65 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £13,300 and £15,400 plus legals.
The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.