The owners of the property we are purchasing have appointed a conveyancing firm in Barnes who has insisted on a preliminary agreement with a payment of 5k. Are such agreements the norm for Barnes conveyancing transactions?
Exclusivity agreements are contracts binding a home owner and purchaser giving the buyer the sole right to the sale of the premises for a limited period of time. Essentially, a lock out is a document specifying that you will be issued with a contract at a later time which is the contract for the actual sale. It tends to be utilised for buyer protection though in many situations, the seller may enjoy an upside from such agreements as well. There are many pros and cons to having an agreement but you should to check with your solicitor but note that it may result in costing you more in conveyancing charges. For this these agreements are rare when it comes to conveyancing in Barnes.
We are buying a property and need a conveyancing solicitor in Barnes who is on the HSBC conveyancing panel. Can you recommend a local conveyancing firm?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for HSBC . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in Barnes.
What happens if my lawyer’s firm is removed from the Santander Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Barnes?
The first thing to point out is that, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.
I currently have a mortgage with Leeds Building Society for my property in Barnes. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. In the event that I decide to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Leeds Building Society?
Your original mortgage agreement with Leeds Building Society will provide that you need their approval before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Leeds Building Society’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Leeds Building Society will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Leeds Building Society directly. You need not do this via a Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel lawyer.
I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in Barnes. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an upfront payment of £175. Shortly after, the conveyancing practitioner called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Yorkshire BS 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 Yorkshire BS 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.
Having read lots of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Barnes solicitor - who is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Leeds Building Society will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Leeds Building Society will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your conveyancing practitioner will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Barnes postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Leeds Building Society, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Barnes.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £235,500 and identified one round the corner in Barnes I like with open areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 52 years on the lease. There is not much else in Barnes for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be problematic. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you can ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this.
When it comes to my conveyancing in Barnes should I be paying VAT on the following: (1) Land reg fee on purchase (2) Pre - completion search fee (3) SDLT E submission on purchase (4) Bank TT fee
(1) Land reg fee on purchase - No (2) Pre - completion search fees -No, (such conveyancing searches are HMLR ones and means £4 and possibly £2 bankruptcy per name on your mortgage) (3) SDLT E submission on your purchase - There is no VAT on Stamp Duty. However if the firm is charging a stamp duty e-submission fee as part of their services - some Barnes conveyancers do - that will incur VAT(4) Bank transfer fee - Yes it is for the conveyancer's time in submitting the funds this way.
