Is the fact that my conveyancer in Becontree is not identified on my lender's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the standard of her conveyancing?
That would most likely be a wrong assumption to make. There are plenty of reasonable explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator revealed 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) lack of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. If you are concerned you should contact the Becontree conveyancing practice and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.
My son-in-law is purchasing a newly built flat in Becontree with a mortgage from Leeds Building Society. His conveyancer has said that there is a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?
The form is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when asked. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
My grandmother passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Becontree. The house had a relatively small loan left on it of around £4500. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Aldermore, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
Given you plan to refinance then Aldermore will require that you use a conveyancer on the Aldermore 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 Aldermore 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 Aldermore mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Kent Reliance. Becontree conveyancing practitioners were chosen. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Kent Reliance?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Kent Reliance completed the valuation? Have you informed Kent Reliance as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
My partner and I are in the throws of looking at flats in Becontree and I am about to put in an offer. Should I already have a property lawyer appointed at this stage? I am planning to take a mortgage with UBS.
You should start obtaining conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the EA. Given that you are taking out a mortgage with UBS, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the UBS conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
Completion of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Becontree. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
Most banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are sorted out very quickly. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.
I have been told that property searches are a common cause of stalling in Becontree house deals. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the findings of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the common causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Searches are unlikely to be the root cause of delay in conveyancing in Becontree.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Becontree I like with a park and transport links nearby, however it only has 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Becontree suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this.