My wife and I are buying a 1 bedroom flat in Mapperley with a mortgage. We have a Mapperley solicitor, but the mortgage company advise she’s not on their "panel". It seems we have little option but to select one of the bank panel conveyancing practices or keep our Mapperley conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. We regard this is unjust; are we not able to insist that the lender use our Mapperley conveyancing practitioner ?
No, not really. 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. Another option that might be available is for your Mapperley conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
We are about to exchange on the purchase of a house in Mapperley but as a consequence of wreckage from the recent storms I have was able negotiate recompense from the vendor in the sum of £3k in the form of a adjustment in the price. I had intended this to be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process yet TSB are not allowing this. Why were they involved?
The lawyer that is on a TSB approved list is obliged to disclose to TSB of any amendments to the sale price. If you prohibit your property lawyer to notify the reduction to TSB then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, TSB and you would have to appoint a new conveyancer for your conveyancing in Mapperley.
My wife and I buying a end of terrace house in Mapperley. The intention is to convert the garage to an office at the house.Will the conveyancing process involve investigations to determine if these works are prohibited?
Your solicitor should check the deeds as conveyancing in Mapperley can sometimes identify restrictions in the title deeds which restrict categories of alterations or necessitated the consent of a 3rd party. Some extensions require local authority planning consent and approval under the building regulations. Certain locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which frequently prevent or impact extensions. You should check these things with a surveyor before you commit yourself to a purchase.
I have a mortgage with Coventry BS for my property in Mapperley. Conveyancing was finalised 12 months ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Coventry BS?
Your original mortgage agreement with Coventry BS will provide that you need their approval in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Coventry BS’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Coventry BS will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Coventry BS directly. You need not do this via a Coventry BS conveyancing panel firm.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Mapperley solicitor having checked that they are on the Principality conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Principality will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Principality will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your conveyancer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Mapperley postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Principality, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Mapperley.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and found one near me in Mapperley I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Mapperley in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?
If you require a home loan the shortness of the lease may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.
I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Mapperley. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.
If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Mapperley - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Mapperley - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying
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How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? How much is the ground rent and service charge? Plenty Mapperley leasehold flats will have a service charge for the upkeep of the block invoiced by the management company. Where you acquire the property you will have to meet this contribution, normally quarterly accross the year. This could vary from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge to be met annual, normally this is not a exorbitant sum, say around £50-£100 but you need to enquire it because occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds.
At long last our conveyancing in Mapperley is set to complete this Friday, however the owners I am purchasing off has asked to vacate on the Saturday midday. Do I agree to this?
If you are having a bank loan then your lawyer will require that you have vacant possession on Friday - the bank will demand it.