Me and my fiance are purchasing a 1 bedroom apartment in Broad Haven with a mortgage. We have a Broad Haven solicitor, however the bank says she’s not on their "panel". It appears that we have no option but to instruct one of the bank panel solicitors or continue with our Broad Haven solicitor as well as pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. We regard this is inequitable; are we not able to insist that the bank use our Broad Haven property lawyer ?
Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’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 Broad Haven conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Please help. My Broad Haven lawyer is advising me that she is duty bound toconduct Broad Haven conveyancing searches becausethe firm are on the Lloydsapproved lawyer panel. Is this really necessary?
You have limited options available to you. Given that you are taking out a loan with a bank your lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your conveyancing practitioner would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your lender’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook conditions . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Broad Haven conveyancing searches.
What can a local search reveal regarding the property I am buying in Broad Haven?
Broad Haven conveyancing often commences with the ordering local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search organisations for example Searchflow The local search plays a central part in many a Broad Haven conveyancing purchase; as long as you wish to avoid any unpleasant surprises after you move into your new home. The search will provide information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 topic headings.
I purchased a terraced Victorian property in Broad Haven. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Bank of Scotland. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same property. Is it worth asking Bank of Scotland to clarify?
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Broad Haven and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the situation with the conveyancing lawyer who conducted the purchase.
I'm purchasing my first flat in Broad Haven benefiting from help to buy. The sellers refused to budge the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep advised me not to tell my conveyancer about the extras as it could affect my loan with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
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 have been on the look out for a flat up to £235,500 and identified one round the corner in Broad Haven I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it's only got 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Broad Haven for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you need a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be problematic. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the property for at least 2 years you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.