I am progressing with the sale of my apartment in High Holborn and the estate agent has just e-mailed to advise that the buyers are switching solicitor. The reason given is that the bank will only deal with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a major lender only engage with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in High Holborn ?
Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in the past few years big names such as HSBC, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for many years.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices 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. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
AssumingI was to purchase a freehold homein High Holborn for cash and have no survey and no conveyancing searches how much could I expect to to save on my conveyancing in High Holborn?
Any savings you would make would be isolated to the costs for searches. The property lawyer is obliged to do the vast majority of work - money laundering, liaising with your vendors conveyancing practitioner, stamp duty submission, register the title etc. A slight saving might be made by not having to register a mortgage but it won't be meaningful.
Is there a reason why leasehold purchase conveyancing in High Holborn costs more?
High Holborn leasehold properties involve far more paperwork than a freehold purchase, and therefore takes more time to examine and advise upon.Conveyancing will involve the lease having to be checked which is usually a lengthy document, queries raised to ensure that the covenants and conditions have been observed. If it is a flat there will be a management company in existence and the accounts of this will need to be checked and enquiries raised to ensure it is operating efficiently and that all monies due have been paid by the Seller to the company and if not ensuring that money is paid up to date or the appropriate undertakings obtained.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unseasoned as a first time purchaser of a two bedroom flat in High Holborn. Do I collect the keys to the property on completion from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will appoint a High Street conveyancing solicitor in High Holborn?
On the day of completion you will not be required to attend the conveyancers office in High Holborn. Conveyancing lawyers for you will arrange to send the completion advance to the seller's solicitors, and once they have received this, you will be able to pick up the keys from the selling Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.
We are due to move property in October. Should my conveyancing solicitor liaise with the removal company on the completion day. On a separate note, can you recommend a removal company in High Holborn. Conveyancing solicitor was chosen prior to coming across your website.
On the afternoon of completion you will need to collect the keys from the selling agent however this can only happen after the vendors lawyers confirm to the agent that they acknowledge receipt of the completion payment and the keys can be collected. You will need to tell the removal company that they can start moving you in. We do not suggest a particular removal organisation but can assist you in locating a conveyancing in High Holborn or a lawyer that specialises in conveyancing in High Holborn.
I am the only beneficiary of my late father’s will with all property in now in my sole name, including the my former home in High Holborn. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in July. I now wish to sell up. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders 6 month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship could be considered the same way as though I had purchased the house in July. Do I have to wait half a year to sell?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook requires conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you may be caught by that. How sensible a view banks take of it, depend on the mortgage company as this provision primarily exists to identify the purchase and immediately sell or the wholesaling and assigning of property.
My partner and I are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our property in High Holborn and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being constructed on contaminated land. Any local conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers instructed a national conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in High Holborn. Having lived in High Holborn for 4 years we know of no issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to get confirmation that there is no issue.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing lawyer already. Are they able to advise? You should check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same illness)
I decided to have a survey completed on a house in High Holborn before instructing lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the house. Our surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will refuse to give a mortgage on such a premises.
It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different requirements for example to Nationwide. If you e-mail us we can investigate further with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in High Holborn. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.