My husband and I are looking to purchase a flat in Irlam and are in fact using a Irlam conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Barnsley Building Society have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Irlam solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the purchaser's lender. 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 Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Irlam lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
My lawyer has identified a a problem with the lease for the apartment we are purchasing in Irlam. The other side have offered title insurance as a solution. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our conveyancer says that he must be satisfied that the bank is content with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the mortgage company ?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the risk of a conflict of interest, you and the bank are the client. Your solicitor must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the mortgage company can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
About to place an offer on a leasehold property in Irlam. The selling agents say that it is standard for flats in Irlam to have less than 75 years unexpired on the lease. I am taking out a loan with Accord Mortgages. Is this going to be acceptable if the lease has Seventy One years to go.
Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are getting a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. Accord Mortgages have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 6/4/2024 the requirements read as follows :
I am assisting my step-mother sell her house in Irlam. Does the solicitor commission an energy assessment or should I organise this?
Following the abolition of HIPs, energy assessments became a mandatory element of selling a property. An energy performance certificate must be commissioned prior to the property being put on the market. This is not something that conveyancers normally arrange. If you are instructing a Irlam conveyancing lawyer they may help arrange energy assessments due to their contacts with long established local assessors
My husband and I have organised a further advance on our home loan from Yorkshire BS as we wish to carry out renovations to our home in Irlam. Are we obliged to select a bricks and mortar Irlam solicitor on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel to handle the paperwork?
Yorkshire BS do not ordinarily appoint firms on their approved list of lawyers to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Yorkshire BS panel.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Irlam. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their conveyancer. I paid an advanced payment of £175. Shortly after, the conveyancer called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Santander conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Santander panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
I opted to have a survey completed on a house in Irlam before appointing lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. The surveyor has said that some lenders will refuse to issue a mortgage on such a property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to call us we can check via the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Irlam. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Irlam to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
Is there a difference between surveying and conveyancing in Irlam?
Conveyancing - in Irlam or elsewhere - is the legal term given to transferring legal title of property from one person to another. It therefore includes the investigation of the title. Whether buying or selling, you should be aware of anything affecting the property such as proposals by government departments, illegal buildings, or outstanding rates. The conveyancer should conduct the appropriate searches and inquiries on the property. Surveying relates to the structure of a property itself. A surveyor will look at a house, flat and any outbuildings you’re intending to buy and will help you discover the condition of the building and, if there are problems, give you a powerful reason for reducing the price down or asking the seller to remedy the defects before you complete your move.