My fiance and I are hoping to acquire a flat in Cilfynydd and are in fact using a Cilfynydd conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Bank of Scotland have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Cilfynydd lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. 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 solicitor should contact your mortgage company 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 the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Cilfynydd solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
My lawyer has uncovered a defect with the lease for the flat we are purchasing in Cilfynydd. The seller’s lawyers have offered defective title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our property lawyer says that he must ensure that the lender is willing to move forward with this solution. Are we the client or is the mortgage company ?
Notwithstanding that you have a mortgage offer from the mortgage company does not mean to say that the property will meet their conditions for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. You and the mortgage company are the client. The appropriate lender provisions have to be complied with.
My uncle passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Cilfynydd. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £5k. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Virgin Money, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?
Where you intend to re-mortgage then Virgin Money will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Virgin Money conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Virgin Money mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
A colleague recommended that where I am purchasing in Cilfynydd I should ask my conveyancer to perform a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is sometimes included in the estimate for your Cilfynydd conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Cilfynydd around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Cilfynydd Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Cilfynydd.
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor for residential conveyancing in Cilfynydd. I've land on a web site which seems to have the ideal solution If there is a chance to get all this stuff done via phone that would be ideal. Should I be wary? What should out be looking out for?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Cilfynydd conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Cilfynydd conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Cilfynydd conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions might be helpful:
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What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?
Cilfynydd Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying
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This question is important as a) areas may cause problems in the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if repairs remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the running of the building you will want to have all the details What is the service charge and ground rent on the apartment?