Me and my partner are hoping to purchase a 3 bedroom apartment in Locks Heath with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Locks Heath conveyancer, but the bank advise she’s not on their "panel". It appears that we have little option but to select one of the bank panel conveyancing practices or continue with our Locks Heath property lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. This feels very unfair; are we not able to insist that the mortgage company use our Locks Heath conveyancer ?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’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 Locks Heath conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Please explain the implications if my lawyer’s firm is suspended from the Skipton Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Locks Heath?
The first thing to point out is that, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.
I have todayfound out that Arc property Solicitors have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Locks Heath for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 10 months ago. How can I establish that the property is not still registered in the name of the former proprietor?
The quickest way to see if the property is in your name, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Locks Heath conveyancing specialists.
I am buying a new build house in Locks Heath benefiting from help to buy. The builders would not move on the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent told me not to tell my conveyancer about this extras as it could adversely affect my loan with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I opted to have a survey carried out on a property in Locks Heath ahead of appointing lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor advised that some lenders may refuse to grant a mortgage on a flying freehold premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different instructions for example to Halifax. If you call us we can check with 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 Locks Heath. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Locks Heath to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed flat in Locks Heath. Conveyancing has not commenced, but I have just received a yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?
The sensible thing to do is clear the service charge as usual because all ground rent and service invoices should be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
I own a 1st floor flat in Locks Heath, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Locks Heath with an extended lease are worth £265,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2101
With only 76 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £8,600 and £9,800 plus costs.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.