I was notified recently by my mortgage broker that my Llanbradach property lawyer is not on the bank Solicitor panel. What can I do to be sure whether this is correct?
Your first step should be to contact your Llanbradach conveyancer. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to notify you of the situation. Where they are not on the panel they may be able to suggest a Llanbradach conveyancing firm that is on the conveyancing panel for your lender.
My husband and I are purchasing a newbuild apartment in Llanbradach with a residential mortgage from Bank of Scotland.We use our Llanbradach conveyancing lawyer but Bank of Scotland says he's not on their "panel". we are left little option but to use a Bank of Scotland panel solicitor or retain our preferred solicitor and pay for a Bank of Scotland panel lawyer to act for them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that Bank of Scotland use our lawyer?
Unfortunately,no. The home loan offered to you contains various provisions, one of which will be that lawyers must be on the Bank of Scotland approved list. Until recently, most mortgage companies had large numbers of solicitors 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. Another option that might be available is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Bank of Scotland
I purchased a renovated Victorian house in Llanbradach. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Virgin Money. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the matching address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Llanbradach and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also enquire as to the position with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the conveyancing.
How does conveyancing in Llanbradach differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Llanbradach contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is finished. This is because house builders in Llanbradach typically buy the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Llanbradach or who has acted in the same development.
I decided to have a survey completed on a house in Llanbradach before retaining conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the property. The surveyor advised that some lenders will not grant a loan on a flying freehold property.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different instructions for example to Nationwide. If you contact us we can check with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Llanbradach. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
As co-executor for the estate of my grandfather I am disposing of a property in Cardiff but reside in Llanbradach. My solicitor (based 260 miles from meneeds me to execute a statutory declaration before the transaction finalising. Could you suggest a conveyancing practitioner in Llanbradach who can witness this legal document for me?
strictly speaking you should not need to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or qualified solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are based in Llanbradach