My fiance and I are buying a 1 bedroom flat in Amesbury with a loan from HSBC Bank.We use our Amesbury conveyancing practitioner but HSBC Bank informed us she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint a HSBC Bank panel solicitor or keep our high street solicitor and pay for a HSBC Bank panel lawyer to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that HSBC Bank use our lawyer?
No, not really. The home loan issued to you is subject to its terms and conditions, a common one being that conveyancers needs to be on the HSBC Bank conveyancing panel. Until recently, most mortgage companies had large numbers of solicitors on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for HSBC Bank
I'm the sole recipient of my late mum's estate with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Amesbury. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in September. I plan to dispose of the property. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', meaning my property ownership may be regarded the same way as if I'd bought the property in September. Is the property unsalable for six months?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook requires conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you may be impacted by that. Most banks would take a practical view as this obligation principally exists to pick up on the purchase and immediately sell or the quick reselling of property.
We were going to get a OIP from Lloyds this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Lloyds recommend any Amesbury solicitors on the Lloyds conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?
You will need to appoint Amesbury solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Lloyds through the process.
After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Amesbury. My financial adviser suggested a property lawyer. I paid an advanced payment of £150. Shortly after, the conveyancer called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Skipton 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 Skipton 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.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Amesbury?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Amesbury. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
I am purchasing my first flat in Amesbury benefiting from help to buy. The developers would not budge the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The property agent advised me not inform my solicitor about the side-deal as it may put at risk my loan with Yorkshire Building Society. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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 was recommended by numerous property agents in Amesbury to select a property lawyer using your seach tool. Is there a financial incentive for Estate Agents to promote your site ahead of another?
We don’t offer any financial incentive for pointing buyers and sellers to this site. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission as members of the public would think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.
How much should conveyancing in Amesbury cost?
The amount you are charged for Amesbury conveyancing costs are likely to be calculated at:
- a fixed fee; or
- on a time spent basis (i.e. the time spent on the particular case).
These days very few Amesbury conveyancing practices invoice by the clock