My husband and I are planning to acquire a house in Charlbury and have appointed a Charlbury conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. The Mortgage Works have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Charlbury conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers 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 Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender 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 lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Charlbury solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
My husband and I are purchasing a newbuild flat in Charlbury with a homeloan from Coventry Building Society.We have a Charlbury conveyancing practitioner but Coventry Building Society says her practice is not listed on their approved list of member firms. It seems we are left with little choice but to instruct a Coventry Building Society panel firm or keep our high street solicitor and fork out for one of their panel ones to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that Coventry Building Society use our lawyer?
Unfortunately,no. The home loan issued to you is subject to its various provisions, a common one being that lawyers will be on the Coventry Building Society 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 solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Coventry Building Society
My wife and I are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our home in Charlbury and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was constructed on contaminated land. Any local conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers used an online conveyancing outfit rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Charlbury. We have lived in Charlbury for many years we know that this is a non issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to obtain clarification that there is no issue.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing lawyer currently acting for you. What do they say? You need to enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same sickness)
How does conveyancing in Charlbury differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Charlbury contact us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is constructed. This is because builders in Charlbury typically buy 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 Charlbury or who has acted in the same development.
In what way does the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 affect my business premises in Charlbury and how can you help?
The particular law that you refer to provides protection to business lessees, giving them the a statutory right to make a request to court for a renewal tenancy and remain in occupation at the end of an expired lease. There are limited grounds that a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are involved. We are happy to direct you to commercial conveyancing firms who use the act for protection and handle your commercial conveyancing in Charlbury
Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Charlbury. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?
Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Charlbury should include some of the following:
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Repair and maintenance of the property Rent payments - what is payable and when you need to pay, and be on notice if this is subject to change Defining your rights in respect of the communal areas in the building.By way of example, does the lease grant a right of way over an accessway or staircase? Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
Charlbury Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing
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Plenty Charlbury leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the block levied on behalf of the freeholder. Where you purchase the flat you will have to meet this charge, usually quarterly throughout the year. This may differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a significant figure, say around £25-£75 but you need to enquire as occasionally it can be prohibitively expensive. Please note that where the lease has no more than 80 years it will impact the value of the apartment. It is worth checking with your lender that they are willing to lend given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you would be required to have owned the premises for a couple of years before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension.