My wife and I are planning to acquire a flat in Aintree and are in fact using a Aintree conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Godiva Mortgages Ltd have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Aintree conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the mortgage company. 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 Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Aintree solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Having sold my house in Aintree last May yet the purchaser is e-mailing me to say his lawyer needs to hear from mine. What should have happened now that I have sold?
After completion of your disposal your solicitor is committed to forward the transfer documentation and all additional paperwork to the purchaser's lawyers. Depending on the transaction, your lawyer should also confirm that the home loan has been repaid to the purchasers conveyancers. There is unlikely to be post completion procedures specific conveyancing in Aintree.
We are expecting a mortgage offer soon. The lender mentioned the loan came with free conveyancing. Does this mean I have to instruct their panel solicitor as I would much rather instruct a high street conveyancing solicitor in Aintree?
You should check but the chances are that give you one of their panel conveyancers if you accept the "fee-free" deal. Speak to the bank and explore if they make available a cash alternative. It is not unheard for a lender to give a £250 cashback as a further option in which case you could put that amount towards the cost for your conveyancing solicitor in Aintree.
I'm buying my first flat in Aintree with a mortgage from Bank of Scotland. The developers refused to move on the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The house builders rep told me not reveal to my lawyer about this side-deal as it will impact my loan with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
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 have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and found one round the corner in Aintree I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, however it's only got 49 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Aintree suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a home loan that many years will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.
Is it the case that all Aintree property lawyers on every bank conveyancing panel?
The Lexsure search tool on this page may be of use or you can drop into your local lender branch in Aintree. the probability is that they can recommend conveyancing solicitors in Aintree