My husband and I are buying a 1 bedroom apartment in East Barming with a mortgage. We have a East Barming lawyer, but the bank advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel conveyancing practices or keep our East Barming conveyancing practitioner as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s 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 East Barming conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Having sold my house in East Barming last June but our buyer keeps e-mailing me complaining that his solicitor is waiting to hear from mysolicitor. What are the post completion sale formalities following completion?
After completion of your house sale your solicitor should forward the transfer documentation and all additional paperwork to the purchaser's solicitors. Depending on the transaction, your conveyancer should also send confirmation that the mortgage has been redeemed to the purchasers solicitors. There is unlikely to be post completion tasks just for conveyancing in East Barming.
My lawyer in East Barming is not on the Alliance & Leicester Solicitor Panel. Can I still use my prefered solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the Alliance & Leicester panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
Your options are as follows:
- Carry on with your preferred East Barming lawyers but Alliance & Leicester will need to use a solicitor on their list of acceptable firms. This will inevitably rack up the total legal charges and cause delays.
- Get a new solicitor to act in the purchase, not forgetting to check they are on the Alliance & Leicester panel
Me and my brother purchased a semi-detached Georgian house in East Barming. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Chelsea Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in East Barming and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also question the situation with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the work.
I decided to have a survey done on a house in East Barming before instructing lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the property. Our surveyor advised that some mortgage companies may refuse to grant a loan on this type of premises.
It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different requirements from Birmingham Midshires. If you contact us we can investigate further with the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in East Barming. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
My uncle has suggested that I use his lawyers for conveyancing in East Barming. Should I use them?
Much as we are happy to recommend a East Barming conveyancing lawyer the best way to find a conveyancing practitioner is to have referrals from friends or relatives who have previously instructed the solicitor you're are thinking of instructing.