My husband and I are intending to acquire a 3 bedroom flat in Rossendale with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Rossendale conveyancer, but the mortgage company says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel firms or continue with our Rossendale property lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. This feels very unfair; are we not able to insist that the lender use our Rossendale lawyer ?
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. Another option that might be available is for your Rossendale conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My lawyer has discovered a defect with the lease for the property we are buying in Rossendale. The seller’s lawyers have suggested defective title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our property lawyer says that he must be satisfied that the lender is willing to move forward with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the lender?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the risk of a conflict of interest, you and the mortgage company are the client. Your property lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the lender can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your solicitor will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
Will our lawyer be making enquiries concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Rossendale.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers conducting conveyancing in Rossendale. Plenty of people will buy a house in Rossendale, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, suitable insurance cover, or sell the property. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Conveyancers are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, but there are a numerous checks that can be undertaken by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which should give them a better understanding of the risks in Rossendale. The standard property information forms sent to a purchaser’s conveyancer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) includes a standard question of the seller to determine if the premises has ever been flooded. If flooding has previously occurred which is not disclosed by the seller, then a purchaser could issue a compensation claim as a result of such an misleading response. The purchaser’s solicitors may also conduct an environmental report. This will indicate whether there is any known flood risk. If so, additional inquiries will need to be conducted.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our property are lost. The conveyancers who did the conveyancing in Rossendale 4 years ago are no longer around. What are my next steps?
As long as the title is registered the details of your ownership will be retained by the Land Registry under a Title Number. It is easy to conduct a search at the Land Registry, locate your house and secure up to date copies of the Registered Entries for less than a fiver. Where the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally retain a file copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for £20 inclusive of VAT.
I need to retain a conveyancing solicitor for residential conveyancing in Rossendale. I have discover a web site which appears to be the perfect solution If there is a chance to get all the legals done via web that would be ideal. Do I need to be wary? What should out be looking out for?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
I am attracted to a two flats in Rossendale which have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
There are plenty of short leases in Rossendale. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease shortens the value of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area.
Rossendale Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing
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Be sure to find out if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For example it is fairly common in Rossendale leases that pets are not permitted in certain buildings in Rossendale. If you like the flatin Rossendale but your dog is not allowed to move with you then you will be presented with a difficult decision. Is the freehold owned collectively by the leaseholders? Who are the managing agents?