I am purchasing a property in Essex. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Aldermore have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As your lender is Aldermore your lawyer must follow the conveyancing requirements contained in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Aldermore. The CML Handbook stipulates minimum conditions for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancing practitioners are required to report to Aldermore where a lease fails to satisfy these conditions. The specifications relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not limited to Essex.
My fiancee and I are in the process of looking at flats in Essex and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it too early to have a solicitor in place? I intend to finance via a home loan with Barclays.
You should start obtaining conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the EA. As you are obtaining a mortgage with Barclays, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Barclays conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
I have paid off my mortgage with Yorkshire BS. I assume I don't need a Essex conveyancer on the Yorkshire BS panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Yorkshire BS mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Yorkshire BS mortgage from the register. Yorkshire BS, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Yorkshire BS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Yorkshire BS has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I own a semi-detached Victorian house in Essex. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Skipton Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the matching property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Essex and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the position with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.
I'm purchasing my first flat in Essex with a loan from The Royal Bank of Scotland. The developers would not budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The sale representative suggested that I not disclose to my solicitor about this deal as it may jeopardize my loan with the lender. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Essex in advance of retaining lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. My surveyor has said that some lenders will not issue a mortgage on such a house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can check with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Essex. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
Am I right to be suspicious that brokers that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use a web based conveyancing firm rather than a High Street Essex conveyancing firm?
As with lots of service providers, often input from connections can be very helpful. Yet there are numerous parties with a keen interest in a conveyancing matter; estate agents, mortgage brokers and banks might all put forward solicitors to retain. On occasion these lawyers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but occasionally there might be a commercial relationship behind the recommendation. You are free to choose your own lawyer. Don't forget that most mortgage providers operate an approved list of conveyancers you have to use for the mortgage related work in your home move.
Am I better off to choose a Essex conveyancing lawyer who is local to the property I am purchasing? An old friend can conduct the legal formalities however her office is 200miles away.
The benefit of a local Essex conveyancing firm is that you can visit the firm to execute documents, deliver your identification documents and pester them if necessary. They will also have local knowledge which is a bonus. However it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who instructed your friend and they were content that should outweigh using an unknown Essex conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being round the corner.