We are hoping to acquire a 1 bedroom apartment in Kingsbridge with a mortgage. We like our Kingsbridge lawyer, however the lender advise she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel solicitors or retain our Kingsbridge conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
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. A further alternative is for your Kingsbridge conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
I had intended to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Kingsbridge for our house move. Our financial adviser has since notified us that our bank The Mortgage Works won't deal with them. Surely this is unfair competition?
Lenders tend to restrict either the type or the amount of conveyancing solicitors on their panel. A common example of such criteria being that a law practice must not be a sole practitioner. As well as restricting the type of firm, some have reduced the number of firms they permit to represent them. You should note that The Mortgage Works have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of The Mortgage Works Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of solicitor panels a few years ago even though there are differing views about the level of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Data from the Land Registry reveal that hundreds of law firms, including some in or near Kingsbridge only execute one or two conveyances per annum.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one close by in Kingsbridge I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 49 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Kingsbridge in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?
Should you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease may be an issue. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you may ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.
How simple is it to change conveyancer as I need to retain one who is on the Clydesdale conveyancing list. I had appointed a high street conveyancing solicitor in Kingsbridge five minutes from me but the firm is not accepted by Clydesdale
We will our best to assist in finding you a conveyancing solicitor in Kingsbridge on the Clydesdale panel. Please note that the property lawyers that we on the directory do not pay us fee if you instruct them and are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority who oversee all conveyancing solicitors in Kingsbridge. In utilising search facility on this page, you can contrast costs for conveyancing solicitors in Kingsbridge and beyond.
I’m about to sell my basement apartment in Kingsbridge. Conveyancing is yet to be initiated, but I have recently had a quarterly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?
It best that you pay the maintenance contribution as you normally would given that all ground rent and service payments will be allotted as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.
Kingsbridge Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying
-
How long is the Lease? Best to be warned if fixing the lift or some other significant cost is coming up to be shared amongst the leaseholders and may well materially increase the the service costs or necessitate a one time payment. How much is the service charge and ground rent on the property?
How and when do I cover the costs of stamp duty payable for my Kingsbridge house purchase?
Your conveyancer should fill out a stamp duty return on your behalf during your Kingsbridge conveyancing transaction for you to sign. After completion your conveyancer will submit the Land Transaction application to the Inland Revenue and - as long as they have the funds - discharge any land tax due on your behalf.