We are planning to buy a 2 bedroom apartment in Forest Hill with a mortgage. We have a Forest Hill conveyancer, however the mortgage company says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel solicitors or keep our Forest Hill solicitor and pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. We consider that this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’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 Forest Hill conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
I have been told that property searches are the number one cause of delay in Forest Hill conveyancing transactions. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published findings of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the most frequent causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are not likely to feature in any holding up conveyancing in Forest Hill.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in Forest Hill?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Forest Hill. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
I am purchasing my first flat in Forest Hill with a loan from Coventry Building Society. The builders refused to budge the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The property agent advised me not disclose to my conveyancer about this deal as it could affect my loan with Coventry Building Society. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and found one close by in Forest Hill I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Forest Hill in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?
If you require a home loan the shortness of the lease may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you can ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.
We're novice buyers - had an offer accepted, yet the selling agent informed us that the seller will only move forward if we use their preferred solicitors as they are insisting on an ‘expedited deal’. We would rather use a family conveyancer accustomed to conveyancing in Forest Hill
We suspect that the owner is not behind this demand. Should the seller desire ‘a quick sale', turning down a serious purchaser is not the way to achieve this. Bypass the agents and go straight to the sellers and explain that (a)you are genuine buyers (b)you are ready to progress, with mortgage lined up © you have nothing to sell (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)but you are going to instruct your own,trusted Forest Hill conveyancing firm - as opposed tothe ones that will give the negotiator at the agency a kickback or achieve conveyancing figures set by senior management.