Is the fact that my solicitor in Christchurch is not listed on my mortgage company's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the quality of his conveyancing?
That would most likely be a wrong assumption to make. There are all sorts of perfectly plausible explanations. Just recently a report by the solicitors regulator indicated 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the solicitor is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. If you are concerned you should contact the Christchurch conveyancing practice and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.
My wife and I intend to remortgage our penthouse in Christchurch with UBS. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the apartment is repossessed. I have two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the UBS conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise his rights to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your UBS conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to UBS. This is solely used to protect UBS if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of UBS had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
As someone unfamiliar with the Christchurch conveyancing process what is the number one tip you can give me for the ownership transfer in Christchurch
You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Christchurch or throughout England and Wales is often a confrontational experience. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there is an abundance of room for confrontation between you and others involved in the house moving process. For example, the vendor, estate agent and sometimes the bank. Selecting a law firm for your conveyancing in Christchurch should not be taken lightly as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the SOLE person in the process whose interest is to protect your legal interests and to keep you safe.
Sometimes a third party with a vested interest may try and sway you that it is in your interests to do things their way. As an example, the property agent may claim to be assisting by suggesting your lawyer is slow. Or your mortgage broker may tell you to do something that is contrary to your lawyers recommendation. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties when it comes to the legal transfer of property.
Our mortgage company has recommended solicitors on their panel based in Christchurch but I would rather use a conveyancing lawyer in Christchurch or nearer to where I live. Can you help?
It is by no means the case that all Christchurch conveyancing practitioners are listed all banks conveyancing panel. Use our find an approved solicitor tool to identify a Christchurch conveyancing solicitor on the on the bank panel.
Frank (my husband) and I may need to let out our Christchurch 1st floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Christchurch conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?
Your lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Christchurch do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.
I invested in buying a 2 bed flat in Christchurch, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Christchurch with over 90 years remaining are worth £206,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2090
With only 66 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £11,400 and £13,200 plus professional fees.
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 without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.
My wife and I are acquiring a studio flat in Christchurch. When we first instructed solicitor, they said that they were on all major UK mortgage company panels. The financial adviser called today to say that they don't seem to be on the Co-operative approved list. Were it to be true, what should we do? Do we just find a new conveyancing practitioner that is on their panel or should we pay for separate representation, with Co-operative selecting their own preferred lawyer.
Where you are purchasing a property requiring a mortgage it is normal for the purchaser’s solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a lawyer has to be on that lender's list of approved lawyers. An application has to be made by the property lawyer to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the conveyancer has to meet. Some banks now insist their panel firms to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact Co-operative and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on Co-operative's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Christchurch solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another solicitor into the mix.