The Mortlake conveyancing firm handling our Mortlake conveyancing has identified a difference when comparing the surveyor’s assumptions in the valuation survey and what is revealed within the legal papers for the property. My lawyer informs me that he must ensure that the lender is OK with this discrepancy and is still content to lend. Is my conveyancer’s approach correct?
Your conveyancing practitioner must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
I am considering applying for a Coventry BS mortgage for purchase of a newly converted (under development) in Mortlake with 70% LTV. Is it compulsory to choose a solicitor on the conveyancing panel for Coventry BS ?
In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel, but Coventry BS would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same transaction.
I recently had an offer accepted on a house in Mortlake. My financial adviser suggested a conveyancing practitioner. I paid an advanced payment of £200. Not long after, the conveyancer called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Co-operative panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
I was told four weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by HSBC. Is it usual for HSBC to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Mortlake is approved on their conveyancing panel? HSBC have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their Professional Indemnity Insurance Schedule.
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for HSBC to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the HSBC conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Virgin Money have agreed my home loan in principle, my bid on a house in Mortlake has been accepted, now what?
Your property agent will want to know who your solicitors are (ensure that the conveyancing practitioners are on the bank’s approved list). Telephone Virgin Money or your financial adviser and complete any outstanding paperwork. Virgin Money will sellect a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or vendor to arrange a time for the valuation to take place. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes on average a fortnight for the mortgage offer to be issued. Virgin Money will send the offer to you and your conveyancing practitioners. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Mortlake.
We are selling our house in Mortlake and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was constructed on contaminated land. Any local lawyer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers used a web based conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Mortlake. Having lived in Mortlake for many years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to get in touch with our local Authority to get confirmation that there is no issue.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing lawyer already. What do they say? You should check with 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 health insurance to cover that same illness)
Me and my brother purchased a terraced Georgian property in Mortlake. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Alliance & Leicester . I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Mortlake 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 lenders. You can also question the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.
I decided to have a survey completed on a house in Mortlake before appointing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. My surveyor advised that some mortgage companies tend refuse to issue a mortgage on such a premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different requirements from Nationwide. If you contact us we can look into this further via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Mortlake. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Mortlake to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.