I can't travel far from Cardiff. What is the rationale as to why all Cardiff solicitors aren't automatically on all mortgage company panels?
Lenders point to the fact that solicitor-led fraud is thought to be responsible for millions of pounds of fraud annually.The removal of law firms from lender panels started with the rise in mortgage fraud, which prompted a thematic review by the Financial Services Authority in 2011. Its conclusions included recommendations for lenders to review their conveyancing panels, which triggered a major policy change in the sector. This resulted in mortgage companies pruning less reputable firms from their official list of approved solicitors .
Can conveyancing in Cardiff to be done within 10 days?
In a situation where you are under a tight deadline to sign contracts we would recommend that your lawyer is familiar with the area as they will benefit local relationships and insight. It is even conceivable that they may have handled otherproperties in the same neighbourhood. You would be best advised to use a Cardiff conveyancing lawyer. In addition, ensure that the lawyer is on the member panel. It is said that nearly one in five of Cardiff conveyancing transactions are frustrated or derailed after finding out that a buyer’s conveyancer was not on their banks list of approved solicitors. In many cases this discovery resulted in the home move being delayed by an average of three weeks. It is claimed that this issue impacts in the region of 100,000 home sales annually. Many Cardiff conveyancing practices can not act for certain mortgage companies so do check at the outset.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as TSB, do Cardiff solicitors face a yearly amount to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are unaware of any bank fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
I am buying a property in Cardiff. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Coventry BS have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As your lender is Coventry BS your lawyer must comply with the formal instructions outlined in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Coventry BS. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook includes minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and lawyers are required to report to Coventry BS where a lease fails to satisfy these requirements. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not limited to Cardiff.
I'm in the process of looking at apartments in Cardiff and I am about to put in an offer. Is it too early to have a solicitor in place? I intend to finance via a home loan with Barclays.
It would be wise to start your search sooner rather than later. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the estate agent. As you are obtaining a mortgage with Barclays, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Barclays conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
A colleague advised me that where I am purchasing in Cardiff I should ask my conveyancer to perform a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is usually quoted for as part of the standard Cardiff conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Cardiff around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Cardiff Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Cardiff.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Cardiff. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.
Here are examples of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Cardiff
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The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents.
I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in Cardiff. Conveyancing has not commenced, but I have recently received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?
The sensible thing to do is clear the maintenance contribution as normal because all ground rent and maintenance invoices should be apportioned on completion, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.
I invested in buying a 2 bed flat in Cardiff, conveyancing having been completed in 2003. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Equivalent flats in Cardiff with a long lease are worth £221,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2096
With only 70 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as legals.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.