I am nearing exchange of contracts for my ground floor flat in Kingsbury and the EA has just e-mailed to warn that the purchasers are switching property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only deal with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a major lender only deal with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Kingsbury ?
Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Nationwide, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.
Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The buyers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
My home in Kingsbury is up for sale and I have accepted an offer. Will the property lawyer need to be required to be on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their conditions fairly frequently currently.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am new to the home moving as FTB of a ground floor flat in Kingsbury. Do I pick up the keys to the house on completion from my conveyancer? If so, I will appoint a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Kingsbury?
On the day of completion you do not need to attend the conveyancers office in Kingsbury. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the completion advance to the vendor’s solicitors, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be called to receive the keys from the property Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.
I am the only recipient of my late father’s will and I have everything in my name alone, including the house in Kingsbury. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in December. I plan to dispose of the property. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', meaning my proprietorship will be considered the same way as though I had purchased the property in December. Do I have to wait half a year to sell?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook instructs conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you could be affected by that. many mortgage companies would take a pragmatic view as this requirement is principally there to capture the purchase and immediately sell or the flipping of property.
Is it correct that all Kingsbury CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the TSB conveyancing list of approved solicitors?
Some major banks and building societies now make use of the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to join their approved list of firms.
We are intent on selling our property in Kingsbury and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being constructed on contaminated land. Any local lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers are using a factory type conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Kingsbury. Having lived in Kingsbury for 4 years we know of no issue. Do we contact our local Authority to get clarification need.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing lawyer already. What do they say? You should enquire of 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 sickness)
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £245,000 and found one close by in Kingsbury I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Kingsbury for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
If you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for at least 2 years you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
Can a conveyancer remove someone from the title of my property in Kingsbury ?
Extracting or adding someone to the title of your home is relatively straightforward. You’ll need to appoint a conveyancing practitioner to discuss your legal rights before you can proceed with a transfer of property. Contact us to book a free consultation with one a property lawyer
