I am in the throes of porting my current residential loan to a Buy to Let Halifax mortgage. I was told by my mortgage that I need a conveyancer for this. I had a chat my previous Childwall conveyancing solicitor who acted on my behalf when I previously purchased the premises. The fee calculation provided of £575 plus disbursements is surprising as its a remortgage than a sale or purchase.
The estimate fees are a bit high. If you you were to look around you might get the conveyancing a bit cheaper by as much as a hundred pounds. On the other hand, assuming were happy with the conveyancing the firm gave you couldlive to regret choosing an an untested conveyancer. Don't forget to be sure that the firm can also act for Halifax. Do use our search tool to locate a Childwall conveyancing firm on the Halifax approved list of lawyers, which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Childwall.
It is 10 years ago since I purchased my property in Childwall. Conveyancing solicitors have now been instructed on the sale but I can't locate my title deeds. Is this a major issue?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly the deeds may be with your mortgage company or they may be in the possession of the conveyancers who acted in your purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors procuring current official copies of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Childwall relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is not registered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
I am expecting a AIP from Nationwide this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Nationwide recommend any Childwall solicitors on the Nationwide conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?
You will need to appoint Childwall solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Nationwide through the process.
The mortgage over my property is with Santander for my property in Childwall. Conveyancing was finalised months ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Santander?
Santander must be informed of your intention prior to renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Santander’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Santander will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Santander directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Santander conveyancing panel solicitor.
After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Childwall. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their solicitor. I paid an on account payment of £225. Shortly after, the property lawyer contacted me to say that they were not on the Aldermore 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 Aldermore 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.
My partner and I are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our home in Childwall and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was constructed land that was not decontaminated. Any high street Childwall lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers instructed a factory type conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Childwall. We have lived in Childwall for many years we know that this is a non issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to obtain confirmation that the buyers are looking for.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing lawyer already. Are they able to advise? 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 health insurance to cover that same illness)
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Childwall?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Childwall. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in Childwall I like with a park and station nearby, the downside is that it's only got 49 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Childwall in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be an issue. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.