I am selling my flat in Broughton and the EA has just called to say that the purchasers are switching property lawyer. The reason given is that the bank will only deal with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a major lender only work with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Broughton ?
Banks have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as Nationwide, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
It has been five months following my purchase conveyancing in Broughton took place. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £200,000 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 premises 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'm buying my first flat in Broughton with a loan from Nationwide Building Society. The builders would not reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent advised me not to tell my lawyer about this extras as it will impact my mortgage with the bank. 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 am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and found one near me in Broughton I like with open areas and transport links nearby, however it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Broughton for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
If you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will be problematic. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.
Is it best to choose a Broughton conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am purchasing? We have a good friend who can deal with the legal formalities however his firm is located 400miles drive away.
The benefit of a local Broughton conveyancing practice is that you can visit the firm to execute documents, present your ID and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Broughton know how is a benefit. That being said it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust used your friend and on the whole were impressed that should outweigh using an unfamiliar Broughton conveyancing solicitor just because they are round the corner.
To what extent are Broughton conveyancing solicitors duty bound by the Law Society to issue clear conveyancing figures?
Contained within the Solicitors Code of Conduct are prescriptive rules and regulations as to how the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) allow solicitors to publicise their fees to clients.The Law Society have a practice note giving advice on how to publicise transparent charges to avoid breaching any such rule. Practice notes are not legal advice issued by the Law Society and is not intended as the only standard of good practice a conveyancing solicitor should adhere to. The Practice Note does, nevertheless, constitute the Law Society’s perspective of acceptable practice for publicising conveyancing charges, and accordingly it’s a recommended read for any solicitor or conveyancer in Broughton or or elsewhere in the country.