Me and my partner are buying a 3 bedroom apartment in Bestwood with a mortgage. We have a Bestwood solicitor, however the lender says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel solicitors or continue with our Bestwood solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. We regard this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms 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. Another option that might be available is for your Bestwood conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
I just bought a property at auction in Bestwood. Conveyancing is needed. What are my next steps?
Given that you have now exchanged you must choose a conveyancing lawyer as a matter of urgency as you now have a tight a fixed date to complete the transaction. An auction property will have a corresponding auction pack. This will likely include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. Where you are dealing with leasehold premises the legal papers should provide a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing documentation pertinent to leasehold premises. You need to hand this to the lawyer working for you ASAP. You also need to ensure that you have funds organised to complete on the on the contractual date .
When it comes to lenders such as Nationwide, do Bestwood lawyers incur a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are not aware of any lender fees to register on their panel, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
After what feels like an age I have had an offer on an apartment in Bestwood accepted, but there is a chain. The owners have offered on a flat, but it’s not yet agreed to, and have viewings of other flats in the pipeline. I have instructed a nearby conveyancing solicitor in Bestwood. What do I do now? At what point do I apply for the mortgage with Nottingham?
It is understandable to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (mortgage application is approx £1k, then valuation, Bestwood conveyancing search costs, etc). First, you must check that your solicitor is on the Nottingham approved list. As to the subsequent phase this very much depends on the specifics of your case, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. In a buoyant market some home buyers would apply for the mortgage with Nottingham and pay for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they ask their conveyancing practitioner to press on with searches.
I acquired my apartment on 2 April and the transaction details are still not registered. Need I be worried? My conveyancing solicitor in Bestwood advises it will be registered inside ten days. Are titles in Bestwood uniquely lengthy to register?
There is nothing unique when it comes to conveyancing in Bestwood registration formalities. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timeframes can vary according to who lodges the application, whether it is in order and whether the Land registry communicate with any third parties. As of today roughly three quarters of such applications are fully dealt with in less than three weeks but occasionally there can be extensive hold-ups. Historically registration takes place once the new owner is living at the property thus an expedited registration is not typically top priority but if it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your lawyers must speak with the land registry and explain the circumstances.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I have offered on a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Bestwood is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Bestwood are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Bestwood you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Bestwood may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.
I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in Bestwood. Conveyancing has not commenced, however I have recently received a quarterly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?
It best that you discharge the service charge as usual as all ground rent and maintenance payments should be allotted on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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 am the registered owner of a 2 bed flat in Bestwood, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2011. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent flats in Bestwood with an extended lease are worth £206,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease ends on 21st October 2091
With 66 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £12,400 and £14,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.
Do all mortgage companies provide you with an approved list of Bestwood solicitors? How do you know who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel?
Bestwood law firm practices and firms conducting conveyancing in Bestwood themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the lender conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from the bank directly.