I am 3 weeks into the sale of my apartment in Eye and the estate agent has just called to advise that the buyers are swapping solicitor. The excuse is that the bank will only work with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a leading lender only engage with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Eye ?
Banks have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for over 25 years.
Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
My wife and I are refinancing our flat in Eye with Co-operative. We have a son approaching twenty who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the property is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Co-operative conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 4 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong 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 Co-operative. This is solely used to protect Co-operative 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 Co-operative 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.
Having invested time reviewing online forums for a cheap solicitor in Eye, most post that I should look for a CQS accredited solicitor. What is CQS?
The Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme is the recognised quality mark for legal experts in the legal transfer of properties, trusted by some of the UK's biggest mortgage companies. In 2011-12 the Conveyancing Quality Scheme was officially recognised by the Legal Ombudsman. CQS is not a scheme offered by the Society for Licensed Conveyancers. Eye is one of the many areas in England and Wales where there are Accredited solicitors.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in last month in what should have been a simple, chain free conveyancing. Eye is the location of the property. Can you offer any guidance?
Flying freeholds in Eye are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Eye you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Eye may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £125,000 flat in Eye next Wednesday. The freeholder has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Eye?
For the majority of leasehold sales in Eye conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :
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Answering pre-contract enquiries
Where consent is required before sale in Eye
Supplying insurance information
Deeds of covenant upon sale
Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
Eye Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before buying
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What is the the remaining lease term? Who are the managing agents? Best to be warned if redecorating or some other major work is due shortly to be shared amongst the tenants and may well dramatically increase the the maintenance charges or necessitate a specific payment.
Is there a reason that Eye conveyancing fees are higher for leasehold and freehold properties?
When purchasing a leasehold property there is more work involved purely due to the fact that usually there are further parties involved in the form of the freeholder and/or Management Agents. As part of a lawyers enquiries they will check that all ground rent and service charges are paid up to date amongst other general leasehold matters. For this reason, the Sellers lawyers usually have to refer to the freeholder or Managing Agent for their replies to our questions. This may be time consuming and beyond the lawyers control