My husband and I are looking to buy a property in Buckfastleigh and are in fact using a Buckfastleigh conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Santander have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Buckfastleigh conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Buckfastleigh solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
I am considering applying for a Leeds Building Society mortgage for purchase of a newly converted (under development) in Buckfastleigh with 65 per cent LTV. Is it compulsory to choose a solicitor on the conveyancing panel for Leeds Building Society ?
In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel, but Leeds Building Society would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same transaction.
Is it the case that all Buckfastleigh CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the UBS conveyancing list of approved practices?
A selection of banks and building societies now utilise the accreditation scheme as the kick off point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to join their approved list of firms.
I have paid off my mortgage with Virgin Money. I assume I don't need a Buckfastleigh conveyancing practitioner on the Virgin Money panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Virgin Money 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 Virgin Money mortgage from the register. Virgin Money, 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 Virgin Money has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Virgin Money has instructed the Land Registry to do so
Planning on purchasing a house in Buckfastleigh. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Buckfastleigh conveyancing practitioner is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel.
How does conveyancing in Buckfastleigh differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Buckfastleigh contact us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is finished. This is because builders in Buckfastleigh usually acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Buckfastleigh or who has acted in the same development.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one near me in Buckfastleigh I like with a park and transport links nearby, the downside is that it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Buckfastleigh suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities 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 speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.
Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Buckfastleigh from the point of view of expediting the sale process?
- Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Buckfastleigh can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors. Many landlords or managing agents in Buckfastleigh charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold home. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Buckfastleigh. If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Buckfastleigh leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you fail to have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand. If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
Buckfastleigh Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to buying
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Please inform me if there are any major works in the near future that will increase the maintenance costs? Who is in charge of the block?