I am selling my home in Purton and the estate agent has just telephoned to advise that the purchasers are switching property lawyer. The excuse is that the bank will only engage with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a major lender only deal with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Purton ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in recent years big names such as Nationwide, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for many years.
Banks blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
We are buying a newly constructed duplex in Purton and my lawyer is telling me that she has to the bank to reveal incentives from the builder. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to sign contracts and I would rather not delay the conveyancing. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancing practitioner. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
I have been recommended a conveyancing solicitor in Purton. I I am struggling to find out if they are on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. Can you or the lender confirm if they are on the panel?
The first thing to do is call your conveyancer and enquire whether they can act for the lender. Otherwise you should get in touch with Aldermore who may be able to confirm.
Me and my partner are purchasing a house in Purton. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a conveyancer? At some point we have to put our life savings into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our deposit?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unexperienced as a 1st time buyer of a garden flat in Purton. Do I collect the keys to the property on completion from my lawyer? If so, I will appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in Purton?
On the day of completion you will not be required to attend the conveyancers office in Purton. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the completion advance to the vendor’s conveyancers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be called to receive the keys from the property Agents and move into your new home. Usually this occurs early afternoon.
Nottingham have agreed my home loan in principle, my offer on a apartment in Purton has been agreed to, now what?
The estate agent will want to know who your solicitors are (ensure that the property lawyers are on the bank’s panel). Telephone Nottingham or your financial adviser and finish off any outstanding forms. Nottingham will appoint a valuer who will get in contact with the estate agent or vendor to arrange a time for the valuation to happen. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes approximately a fortnight to receive the mortgage offer. Nottingham will issue the offer to you and your property lawyers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Purton.
Various online forums that I have visited warn that are a common reason for delay in Purton conveyancing transactions. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the findings of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the top 10 causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Local searches are unlikely to be the root cause of delay in conveyancing in Purton.
I work for a reputable estate agent office in Purton where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Purton conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?
As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
I purchased a 2 bed flat in Purton, conveyancing was carried out in 2012. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Purton with over 90 years remaining are worth £185,000. The ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2085
With 60 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £20,000 and £23,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.