Me and my fiance are planning to acquire a 2 bedroom apartment in Flackwell Heath with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Flackwell Heath lawyer, however the mortgage company says he's not on their "panel". It appears that we have little choice but to use one of the mortgage company panel firms or keep our Flackwell Heath conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. This feels very unfair; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. 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 Flackwell Heath conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My husband and I swapping mortgage lender for our apartment in Flackwell Heath with Clydesdale. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 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 forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this form unique to the Clydesdale conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Clydesdale 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 Clydesdale. This is solely used to protect Clydesdale 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 Clydesdale 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.
I purchased a freehold residence in Flackwell Heath but still pay rent, why is this and what is this?
It is rare for properties in Flackwell Heath and has limited impact for conveyancing in Flackwell Heath but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges have existed for hundreds of years, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the generation of fresh rentcharges post 1977.
Previous rentcharges can now be redeemed by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 will be dispensed with completely.
We had chosen conveyancers located in Flackwell Heath on the UBS solicitor panel. They have just billed me a supplemental fee for dealing with the UBS mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by UBS?
As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your conveyancing practitioner can charge a fee for this. The charge is not set by UBS but by your Flackwell Heath conveyancer. Some firms on the UBS panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Flackwell Heath. I have a mortgage offer with Skipton. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Skipton, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Skipton conveyancing panel.
Planning on purchasing a flat in Flackwell Heath. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Flackwell Heath solicitor is on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel.
My wife and I own a renovated Edwardian house in Flackwell Heath. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Alliance & Leicester . I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the matching address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
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 Flackwell Heath 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 practitioner who conducted the purchase.
My lender have just issued us with a mortgage offer. We have retained a high street conveyancer in Flackwell Heath last week. A couple of hours ago, our broker called to say that the bank said that we cannot use our solicitor as they aren't on their panel. As FTB's, we did not have a clue that the lender had a say Is this usual?
You are permitted to choose any conveyancing solicitor you wish to select including the said conveyancer in Flackwell Heath however if they are not on the your bank's panel you must pay additional cost so your bank can retain their own lawyers. sometimes it is possible your solicitor may apply to get included on to the lender panel. You can use online search facilities such as lenderpanel.com to find a conveyancing solcitor in Flackwell Heath on the bank panel. You can go into your local lender branch in Flackwell Heath. They can recommend conveyancing solicitors in Flackwell Heath on the panel for your bank.