My husband and I are planning to buy a 2 bedroom apartment in Carnforth with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Carnforth solicitor, but the lender says he's not on their "panel". It appears that we have no option but to use one of the lender panel solicitors or retain our Carnforth solicitor and pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. This feels very unfair; can we not require that the lender use our Carnforth lawyer ?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’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. A further alternative is for your Carnforth conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Carnforth? What am I being asked for?
You are right in these requests have nothing to do with conveyancing in Carnforth. However these days you can not proceed with any conveyancing process without first submitting evidence of your identity. Ordinarily this takes the form of a either your passport or driving licence and a council tax bill. Please note that if you are supplying your driving licence as evidence of identification it must be both the paper element as well as the photo card part, one is not acceptable in the absence of the other.
Verification of your source of funds is necessary under Money Laundering Regulations. Don’t be offended when when this is requested of you as your lawyer must retain this information on record. Your Carnforth conveyancing practitioner will need to see evidence of proof of funds prior to accepting any money from you into their client account and they should also ask further queries regarding the source of monies.
I am buying a terrace house in Carnforth. The intention is to convert the garage to an office at the house.Will legal conveyancing on the property involve checks to see if these works are allowed?
Your solicitor should review the registered title as conveyancing in Carnforth will occasionally reveal restrictions in the title documents which prevent certain works or require the consent of another owner. Many works call for local authority planning permissions and approval in accordance building regulations. Some locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or impact extensions. It would be wise to check these things with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Co-operative, do Carnforth property lawyers incur an annual charge to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any bank fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Carnforth. My mortgage broker suggested a lawyer. I paid an advanced payment of £150. A couple of days later, the conveyancer called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the TSB conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the TSB panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
I need some expedited conveyancing in Carnforth as I am faced with an ultimatum to complete within one month. A mortgage is not required. Can I avoid the conveyancing searches to save money and time?
As you are are a cash purchaser you have the choice not to have searches conducted although no law firm would advise that you don't. With plenty of history conveyancing in Carnforth the following are examples of what can appear and adversely affect the marketability of the property: Refused Planning Applications, Overdue Fees, Outstanding Grants, Unadopted Roads,...
I'm buying a new build house in Carnforth benefiting from help to buy. The developers refused to move on the amount so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent told me not to tell my conveyancer about this extras as it could adversely affect my mortgage with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.
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 decided to have a survey carried out on a house in Carnforth prior to retaining solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. My surveyor advised that some banks tend refuse to give a loan on a flying freehold house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different instructions from Nationwide. If you call us we can check via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Carnforth. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.