My husband and I are planning to acquire a property in Rutland and have appointed a Rutland conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Barnsley Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Rutland lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the purchaser's lender. 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender 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 lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Rutland solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
We are buying a property in Rutland. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a lawyer? At some point we have to deposit money into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our money?
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.
My wife and I are in the process of looking at houses in Rutland and I am about to put in an offer. Is it premature to have a solicitor in place? I will be getting a mortgage with UBS.
You should start obtaining conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the EA. Given that you are getting a mortgage with UBS, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the UBS conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
The formalities of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Rutland. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?
Most banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Department at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are sorted out very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I have offered on a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Rutland is where the house is located. What do you suggest?
Flying freeholds in Rutland are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Rutland you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Rutland may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
Am I right to be concerned about third parties that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use a factory type conveyancing firm as opposed to a High Street Rutland conveyancing company?
As with many service providers, often referrals from relatives can be worth their weight in gold. But there are many parties with a keen interest in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, financial adviser and banks may recommend solicitors to use. On occasion these solicitors might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but occasionally there behind the scenes commercial relationship behind the endorsement. You have the discretion to appoint your own conveyancer. You need to be aware that many banks have an approved list of conveyancers you must use for the mortgage aspect of your home move.
Jane (my partner) and I may need to let out our Rutland 1st floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Rutland conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?
Notwithstanding that your previous Rutland conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek consent via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.
I am the registered owner of a ground floor flat in Rutland, conveyancing formalities finalised June 2007. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent flats in Rutland with over 90 years remaining are worth £206,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2092
With only 66 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £12,400 and £14,200 plus legals.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.
Why can I not complete my conveyancing in Rutland on Good Friday?
Because on completion the money will be transferred electronically between the banks of the purchaser and owner’s property lawyer and currently this can only take place on a working day. So you can't complete on a saturday or sunday either.