My wife and I are hoping to purchase a 1 bedroom apartment in Harleston with a mortgage. We have a Harleston lawyer, however the lender advise she’s not on their "panel". It appears that we have little option but to use one of the lender panel firms or retain our Harleston conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. We feel that this is unjust; are we not able to insist that the mortgage company use our Harleston property lawyer ?
Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer 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 Harleston conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
It is 10 years ago since I purchased my home in Harleston. Conveyancing lawyers have just been instructed on the sale but I can't locate my deeds. Is this a major issue?
Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be kept by your lender or they could stored with the conveyancers who oversaw the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the land will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers procuring up to date copy of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Harleston involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it is more problematic but is not insurmountable.
My grandmother passed away last year and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Harleston. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £8000. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to HSBC, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
If you plan to refinance then HSBC will insist on your using a conveyancer on the HSBC conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your HSBC conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the HSBC mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
Various online forums that I have frequented warn that are the main cause of delay in Harleston conveyancing transactions. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released conclusions of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the common causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Searches are unlikely to be the root cause of delay in conveyancing in Harleston.
I'm purchasing my first flat in Harleston with a mortgage from Platform Home Loans Ltd. The sellers refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The property agent advised me not to tell my lawyer about the deal as it may jeopardize my loan with the bank. Is this normal?.
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'm remortgaging my current house to a buy to let loan with The Mortgage Works and I will use the rest of the raised equity as a deposit on a second property. The neighborhood we are interested in is Harleston. Will your solicitors be able to act for the two mortgage companies and tie in the conveyances?
Do use our comparison tool on this page to check that the lawyers are approved by both mortgage companies. On the basis that they are the conveyancer will be able to connect the two conveyancing matters but you should have a chat with you conveyancer and communicate your expectations and requirements.