I am not in a position to travel far from Sandhurst. What is the rationale as to why all Sandhurst solicitors are not on all lender panels?
Even though it may seem unfair for lenders to restrict who can represent them, from the public’s or solicitor’s perspective, the other side of the coin is that mortgage companies are becoming ever more anxious and feel it vital to defend themselves against mortgage fraud. As a result of this concern lenders are limiting their panel of approved conveyancing lawyers to a manageable size.
My wife and I have recently acquired a house in Sandhurst. We have noticed several problems with the house which we consider were overlooked in the conveyancing searches. Do we have any recourse? Can you clarify the nature of searches that needed to have been ordered as part of conveyancing in Sandhurst?
It is not clear from the question as what problems have arisen and if they are relate to conveyancing in Sandhurst. Conveyancing searches and due diligence initiated as part of the buying process are supposed to help avoid problems. As part of the process, a property owner answers a document referred to as a SPIF. answers turns out to be misleading, then you may have a claim against the owner for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Sandhurst.
Is there a reason why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Sandhurst is more expensive?
Sandhurst leasehold conveyancing transactions usually involve additional investigations than freeholds including investigating the Lease, liaising with the Landlord such as serving appropriate notices on the Landlord or managing agent, obtaining up-to-date service charge and management information, obtaining Landlord’s consents and reviewing management accounts and formation documents.
we are a couple who are buying a 2 bedroom apartment in Sandhurst with a homeloan from The Royal Bank of Scotland.We use our Sandhurst conveyancing solicitor but The Royal Bank of Scotland advised that his firm is not on their approved list of member firms. We have to appoint a The Royal Bank of Scotland panel lawyer or retain our preferred solicitor and fork out for one of their panel ones to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that The Royal Bank of Scotland use our lawyer?
No, not really. The home loan offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, a common one being that lawyers will be on the The Royal Bank of Scotland approved list. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could find 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 lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for The Royal Bank of Scotland
A colleague informed me that in purchasing a property in Sandhurst there may be a number of restrictions affecting the ability to carry out external changes to a property. Is this right?
We are aware of a number of properties in Sandhurst which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Sandhurst should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
Is it correct that all Sandhurst CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing list of approved solicitors?
It is true that some banks and building societies now make use of CQS as the kick off point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to join their panels.
We had appointed conveyancers based in Sandhurst on the Virgin Money solicitor panel. They have just billed me a separate charge for the legal aspects of the Virgin Money mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Virgin Money?
Provided it is contained in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your lawyer is entitled to charge a fee for this. This charge is not set by Virgin Money but by your Sandhurst conveyancing practitioner. Some firms on the Virgin Money panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Sandhurst. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
Leasehold Conveyancing in Sandhurst - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing
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Who are the managing agents? How is the lease structured? Please tell me if there are any major works on the horizon that will increase the service fees?