I am six weeks into the sale of my ground floor flat in Cheetham and the estate agent has just telephoned to warn that the buyers are changing their conveyancer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named lender only deal with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Cheetham ?
Banks have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in recent years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that 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. Your purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
I am selling my house in Cheetham. Will my conveyancer have to be on the Nottingham conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Nottingham conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their conditions fairly frequently at the moment.
I used Action Conveyancing several years past for my conveyancing in Cheetham. I now require my file however cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Cheetham of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Cheetham prior to retaining conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. Our surveyor has said that some lenders will not grant a mortgage on this type of home.
It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions for example to Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can check with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Cheetham. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Cheetham to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
As co-executor for the will of my aunt I am selling a house in Newport but reside in Cheetham. My conveyancer (approximately 200 miles from mehas requested that I sign a statutory declaration before completion. Can you recommend a conveyancing lawyer in Cheetham to witness and place their company stamp on the document?
strictly speaking you are unlikely to be required to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or qualified solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are Cheetham based
Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Cheetham. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.
Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Cheetham - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in Cheetham, conveyancing was carried out in 2012. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar properties in Cheetham with over 90 years remaining are worth £191,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2073
You have 53 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £27,600 and £31,800 plus legals.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.