My husband and I are hoping to purchase a property in Hawkshead and have appointed a Hawkshead conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Aldermore have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Hawkshead solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Hawkshead solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
I am considering applying for a Co-operative mortgage for purchase of a newly converted (under development) in Hawkshead with 70% loan to value. Is it compulsory to choose a solicitor on the conveyancing panel for Co-operative ?
There is nothing to stop you using your solicitor, but Co-operative will insist on their interests being represented by a firm on their conveyancing panel. There is much more potential for delays and confusion with two solicitors involved, and it will undoubtedly be more expensive too.
Is it the case that all Hawkshead solicitor firms on the Aldermore conveyancing panel are overseen by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Aldermore approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the SRA. Some banks do list licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such practice would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Hawkshead. I have a mortgage offer with Bank of Ireland. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Bank of Ireland, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel.
About to purchase flat in Hawkshead. 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 Lloyds 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 Hawkshead conveyancer is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and found one near me in Hawkshead I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, however it's only got 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Hawkshead 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 remaining unexpired lease term may be problematic. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you may request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.
I'm remortgaging my current property to a BTL mortgage with The Royal Bank of Scotland and intend to use the remaining equity as a down payment on a second property. The location we are looking at is Hawkshead. Will your lawyers be able to act for the two mortgage companies and link together the two deals?
Make use of our search tool on this page to be sure that the conveyancers are approved by both banks. Assuming that they are your lawyer should be able to tie up the two transactions but you should have a chat with you conveyancer and make apparent your desired outcome and needs.
My husband and I are 17 days into a leasehold purchase having been recommend to solicitors by the selling agent to do our conveyancing in Hawkshead. I am am starting to be frustrated with the quality of service. Could you you assist me in finding new lawyers?
They would need to be very bad in order to consider changing them. Has the mortgage offer been generated? In the event that it has you must advise them of the new lawyer and have the mortgage documents are issued to the new lawyers. The conveyancer needs to be on the banks panel to avoid escalating expenses and frustration. So that should be your first question of the new conveyancers. Our find a solicitor tool can help you find a lender approved lawyer for your conveyancing in Hawkshead