My husband and I are purchasing a 3 bedroom apartment in Port Isaac with a mortgage. We like our Port Isaac lawyer, however the mortgage company says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel solicitors or retain our Port Isaac conveyancer as well as pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. This feels very unfair; is there anything we can do?
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 Port Isaac conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My partner and I are refinancing our flat in Port Isaac with Principality. We have a son approaching twenty who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Principality conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we purchased 4 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Principality. This is solely used to protect Principality if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Principality had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
Can I be sure that the Port Isaac conveyancing solicitor on the Coventry BS panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Port Isaac getting recommendations is a sensible start. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one advertising the lowest fees. We would always advise that you speak with the solicitor handling your conveyancing.
The formalities of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Port Isaac. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How do I make a complaint?
All lenders have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Team at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are sorted out very quickly. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Port Isaac. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their property lawyer. I paid an on account payment of £175. Not long after, the conveyancer called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Nottingham 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 Nottingham 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.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Port Isaac?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Port Isaac. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and identified one close by in Port Isaac I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Port Isaac for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?
If you need a home loan the shortness of the lease may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this.
Is it the case that all Port Isaac property lawyers on every lender conveyancing panel?
The Lexsure search tool on this page may be of use or you can pop into your high street lender branch in Port Isaac. the probability is that they will know some good conveyancing solicitors in Port Isaac