I am buying a semi-detached house in Birstall. Can I do my own conveyancing?
Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Birstall you will have to appoint a solicitor on your mortgage company's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Birstall.
There are numerous conveyancing solicitors in Birstall but how do I know who's good?
We would encourage you not to go for the cheapest Birstall conveyancing quote. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in ahead of the deal.
I have paid off my mortgage with Nottingham. I assume I don't need a Birstall property lawyer on the Nottingham panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Nottingham mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Nottingham mortgage from the register. Nottingham, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Nottingham has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Nottingham has instructed the Land Registry to do so
It is unclear whether my bank obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called into my local Birstall building society branch on numerous occasions and was told it wasn't an issue and they will lend. My Birstall conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- called to say that they refuse to lend based on their published requirements. Who do I believe?
Provided that the conveyancing practitioner is on the bank approved list, she or he must adhere to the CML Handbook requirements for the bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
It has been 3 months following my purchase conveyancing in Birstall took place. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the property from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
I am buying my first flat in Birstall with the aid of help to buy. The sellers would not budge the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The estate agent told me not reveal to my conveyancer about this deal as it could affect my mortgage with the lender. Is this normal?.
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 £235,500 and identified one round the corner in Birstall I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 61 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Birstall for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you may ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.
At last I have had an offer on an flat in Birstall agreed to, the seller does however have a tied purchase. The vendors have put an offer on a property, but it’s not yet agreed to, and are looking at other properties in the pipeline. I have selected a local conveyancing solicitor in Birstall. What should be my next step? At what stage do I apply for the mortgage with Virgin Money?
It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain given your reluctance to incur expenses too early (home loan application is approx one thousand pounds, then survey, Birstall conveyancing search fees, etc). First, you should ensure that your conveyancer is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. Concerning the next steps this very much dictated by the specifics of your transaction, desire for this property and on the state of the market. During a rising market many purchasers would apply for the mortgage with Virgin Money and arrange for the survey and only if it comes back ok would they pay their lawyer to move forward with searches.