My fiance and I are planning to acquire a property in Nottingham and are in fact using a Nottingham conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Lloyds TSB Bank have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Nottingham lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Nottingham lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Our mortgage company has suggested solicitors on their panel based in Nottingham but I would rather use a conveyancing lawyer in Nottingham local to me. Are you able to assist?
It is by no means the case that all Nottingham conveyancing firms are listed all lender’s conveyancing panel. Do make the most of our search tool to find a Nottingham conveyancing firm on the on the bank panel.
I am purchasing a 3 bedroom semi in Nottingham. The intention is to carry out an extension to the side at the property.Will the conveyancing process involve enquiries to determine if these alterations are allowed?
Your property lawyer should check the deeds as conveyancing in Nottingham will occasionally reveal restrictions in the title documents which prevent certain changes or necessitated the consent of a 3rd party. Many extensions need local authority planning permissions and approval in compliance with building regulations. Many areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or affect extensions. It would be sensible to check these things with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.
I am the single beneficiary of my late grandmother’s will with all property in now in my sole name, including the my former home in Nottingham. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in October. I now wish to sell up. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', meaning my proprietorship could be considered the same way as if I'd bought the property in October. Do I have to wait half a year to sell?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook requires conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you may be impacted by that. How sensible a view lenders take of it, depend on the lender as this provision is principally there to capture the purchase and immediately sell or the wholesaling and assigning of property.
Completion of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Nottingham. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How do I make a complaint?
Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Department at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.
I have been told that property searches are the main reason for hinderance in Nottingham conveyancing transactions. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released conclusions of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the top 10 causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are not likely to be the root cause of holding up conveyancing in Nottingham.
The deeds to our house are lost. The lawyers who dealt with the conveyancing in Nottingham 5 years ago are no longer around. What do I do?
Gone are the days when you need to have the physical original deeds to establish that you are the owner of your registered land or property, given that the Land Registry have everything they need in a digital format.
Due to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Nottingham. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?
The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Nottingham should include some of the following:
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What the implications are if you have violated the provisions of the lease? You should be informed what constitutes a Nuisance as far as the lease is concerned Rent payments - how much and when is collected, and be on notice if this will change in the future You should receive a copy of the lease specifics of the parties to the lease, for instance these could be the (you), superior lessor, freeholder
I am the registered owner of a ground floor flat in Nottingham, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Nottingham with an extended lease are worth £171,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2104
With 79 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £7,600 and £8,800 plus legals.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.