I am in the process of selling my flat in Great Baddow and the EA has just text me to say that the purchasers are swapping law firm. The excuse is that the bank will only deal with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a big named lender only work with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Great Baddow ?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in recent years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 25 years.
Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms 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. The buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
My lawyer in Great Baddow has never been on on the Bank of Scotland Approved Panel. Can I still use my prefered solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the Bank of Scotland panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
The limited options open to you here include:
- Carry on with your preferred Great Baddow lawyers but Bank of Scotland will need to retain a conveyancer on their list of acceptable firms. This will inevitably rack up the total conveyancing charges as well as result in delays.
- Find an alternative practitioner to act in the conveyancing, obviously checking they are Bank of Scotland approved.
- Persuade your Bank of Scotland solicitor to attempt to join the Bank of Scotland panel
A colleague advised me that where I am purchasing in Great Baddow I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard Great Baddow conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing significant information about Great Baddow around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Great Baddow Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information regarding Great Baddow.
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor for some conveyancing in Great Baddow. I happened to stumble across a web site which seems to have the ideal solution If there is a chance to get all the legals done via email that would be preferable. Should I be concerned? What should out be looking out for?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Great Baddow with the intention of speeding up the sale process?
- Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Great Baddow can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives. If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Great Baddow leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. If you dont have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand. If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Great Baddow conveyancing deal. Where a duplicate share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity. The majority of landlords or Management Companies in Great Baddow charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold home. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Great Baddow.
Great Baddow Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to buying
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Who is in charge of the building? What is the length of the lease? The best form of lease structure is where the freehold interest is owned by the leaseholders. In this arrangement the tenants have being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is often employed where the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.
We are in the middle of buying a property in Great Baddow. Conveyancing lawyer has phoned to say the property is "Leasehold". Does this adversely affect our HSBC valuation?
Great Baddow conveyancing does not ordinarily involve leasehold houses. The main factor here is the unexpired lease term and the ground rent. If it's 999 years with a nominal rent, it's virtually freehold, so it’s unlikely to affect the saleability too much.
At the other end of the spectrum, if it's, say, fifty five years it is bound to have a adverse effect on the value, and probably wouldn't be acceptable to the lender. The length of lease and ground rent will be stated in the lease which should be made available to your lawyer.