I am progressing with the sale of my flat in Calne and the EA has just e-mailed to advise that the buyers are appointing a new conveyancer. The excuse is that the lender will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major lender only engage with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Calne ?
Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in the past few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for many years.
Lending institutions blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says 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. The buyers are not going to have any impact on this.
Is there a search tool that I can use to find out if the solicitor carrying out my conveyancing in Calne is on the mortgage lender’sconveyancing panel? I am looking to avoid the situation of having one lawyer for me and one for Britannia thus paying £187.00 plus VAT in further conveyancing bill.
You should take advantage of the find a conveyancing panel solicitor tool on this page. Pick the mortgage company and type ‘Calne’ or your location and you will be presented with numerous conveyancers based in Calne or near you.
I am assisting my step-mother sell her house in Calne. Will the solicitor commission an energy assessment or it is for the owner to coordinate?
After the demise of Home Information Packs, energy assessments was kept a compulsory element of moving house. An energy assessment needs to be to hand before the property is placed on the market. It is not a task that law firms ordinarily arrange. If you are instructing a Calne conveyancing lawyer they might help arrange energy assessments given their relationships with reputable local assessors
We had chosen conveyancing lawyers with offices in Calne on the Yorkshire BS solicitor approved list. They have just invoiced me a supplemental fee for the legal aspects of the Yorkshire BS mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Yorkshire BS?
Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your lawyer can levy a fee for this. The charge is not set by Yorkshire BS but by your Calne solicitor. Plenty of firms on the Yorkshire BS panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee but many practices include it on their overall fee.
I have instructed a Calne solicitor having made sure that they are on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Aldermore will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Aldermore will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Calne surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
I am buying a new build apartment in Calne. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.
Here are examples of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Calne
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Please supply a car parking plan. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. Please confirm the Lease plans are architect prepared. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal.
In what way can the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 impact my commercial premises in Calne and how can your lawyers assist?
The particular law that you refer to gives protection to business lessees, giving them the right to make a request to court for a new tenancy and continue in occupation at the end of an expired lease. There are certain specified grounds where a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are involved. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Calne is one of the hundreds of locations in which the firms we work with are based
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Calne with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?
- Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Calne can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives. Some Calne leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors. Many landlords or Management Companies in Calne levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold home. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Calne. If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Calne state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you dont have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer in advance. If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
Calne Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to buying
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Best to be warned whether window replacement or some other major work is anticipated to be shared amongst the leaseholders and could well dramatically increase the the service costs or require a specific invoice. Is the freehold reversion owned collectively by the leaseholders? Please note if it is fewer than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the apartment. Check with your lender that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. A short lease means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. For most Calnelease extensions you would need to own the residence for two years before you are eligible to carry out a lease extension.