I am hoping to complete my purchase in Frome next Thursday. I have now been asked to send a copy of my building insurance schedule by my solicitor as as she informs me that she is duty bound to validate that it is in order for the bank. What risks does the lender expect the insurance to cover?
Any lawyer on acting for mortgage companies would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in a lender’s Part 2 conditions. These obligations are not specific to conveyancing in Frome.
We had appointed conveyancers based in Frome on the Nottingham solicitor panel. They are now charging me an additional charge for the legal aspects of the Nottingham mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Nottingham?
Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your solicitor can charge a fee for this. This charge is not set by Nottingham but by your Frome lawyer. Plenty of firms on the Nottingham panel will quote ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but many practices incorporate it on their overall fee.
I had an offer accepted on a property in Frome on 14/2/2025, valuation was booked 4 days later, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer instructed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Virgin Money and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?
A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Virgin Money to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Principality have agreed my home loan in principle, my bid on a apartment in Frome has been accepted, what happens next?
Your property agent will want to be advised as to your property lawyer's details (be sure the property lawyers are on the bank’s panel). Contact Principality or your broker and complete any relevant paperwork. Principality will appoint a valuer who will get in contact with the estate agent or owners to arrange a slot for the valuation to occur. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes about a fortnight to receive the mortgage offer. Principality will issue the offer to you and your conveyancers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Frome.
Just bought a semi-detached house in Frome , how long will it take for the Land Registry to register my title? My Frome conveyancing solicitor has been painfully slow, so I want to be sure that my name is recorded.
There is nothing unique about conveyancing in Frome registration formalities. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timescales can adjust depending on who lodges the application, whether there are errors and if the Land registry need to notify any interested parties. As of today roughly 80% of submission are fully dealt with within two weeks but some can be subject to longer hold-ups. Historically registration occurs once the new owner is living at the premises therefore 'speed' is not typically an essential issue yet if there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your lawyers could contact the land registry and explain the circumstances.
Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Frome ahead of retaining conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the property. The surveyor has said that some lenders may refuse to issue a mortgage on this type of house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to telephone us we can investigate further via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Frome. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Frome to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
Do I need to be wary by 3rd parties that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use an online conveyancing firm as opposed to a local Frome conveyancing company?
As with many service providers, often recommendations from connections can be very helpful. Nevertheless there are lots of parties with a vested interest in a conveyancing matter; estate agents, mortgage brokers and mortgage companies might all suggest lawyers to appoint. On occasion these conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as experts in their field, but sometimes there may be a commercial relationship behind the recommendation. You have the right to select your own lawyer. However, bear in mind that the majority of banks have an approved list of solicitors you are obliged to use for the lender aspect of your conveyancing.
I work for a busy estate agent office in Frome where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Frome conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
Frome Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying
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Best to be warned if window replacement or some other significant cost is pending to be shared by the leaseholders and may well materially impact the level of the service fees or require a specific payment. How much is the annual service fee and ground rent? Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge payments?