We are buying a 1 bedroom flat in Greenfield with a mortgage. We have a Greenfield lawyer, however the bank says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel solicitors or continue with our Greenfield lawyer and pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. This feels very unfair; can we not insist that the bank use our Greenfield lawyer ?
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. Another option that might be available is for your Greenfield conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Is there a reason why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Greenfield is more expensive?
Greenfield leasehold conveyancing transactions usually involve additional investigations than freeholds including investigating the Lease, liaising with the Landlord such as serving applicable notices on the Landlord or managing agent, obtaining up-to-date service charge and management information, obtaining Landlord’s consents and reviewing management accounts and formation documents.
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my lawyer’s firm is suspended from the RBS Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Greenfield?
First, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.
We previously selected conveyancers locally in Greenfield on the RBS solicitor approved list. They have just invoiced me an additional sum for the legal aspects of the RBS mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by RBS?
As unfair as it may appear, as long as it’s in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your property lawyer may levy a fee for this. This charge is not dictated by RBS but by your Greenfield lawyer. Numerous firms on the RBS panel will levy an ‘acting for lender’ fee but some firms include it on their overall fee.
I have a mortgage with Aldermore for my property in Greenfield. Conveyancing was finalised a year ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Aldermore?
Aldermore must be informed of your intention in advance of renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Aldermore’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Aldermore directly. You need not do this via a Aldermore conveyancing panel lawyer.
Intending to buy a flat in Greenfield. 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 Coventry BS 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 Greenfield conveyancer is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £245,000 and found one round the corner in Greenfield I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it's only got 52 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Greenfield in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?
Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will be problematic. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the property for at least twenty four months you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.
I have been recommended a conveyancing solicitor in Greenfield. I I would like to check if they are listed on the bank's approved list of lawyers. Can you help?
One option is to call your conveyancer and ask them if they are on the lender's approved list. If that does not help call us and we can investigate and revert. Should the firm not be on the conveyancing panel we we can help find a specialist conveyancing solicitor in Greenfield on the panel for your lender.