I am progressing with the sale of my apartment in Shaftesbury and the EA has just called to warn that the purchasers are switching conveyancer. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only work with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a major lender only work with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Shaftesbury ?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in the last few years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for many years.
Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. 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 buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
Can the conveyancing lawyers that you recommend execute attended exchange conveyancing in Shaftesbury?
We do have a number of conveyancing experts carrying out personalised exchanges. Please e-mail us to get a conveyancing quote and details as to dates.
I have an AIP. The lender mentioned the mortgage came with free conveyancing. Is the implication that I have to instruct their panel lawyer as I would much rather use a Shaftesbury based conveyancing firm?
Do check but the chances are that allocate you one of their panel conveyancers if you take up the "fee-free" deal. Contact the lender to ask if they make available a monetary alternative. It is not unheard for a lender to give a £250 cashback as an alternative in which case that money can go towards your preferred conveyancing solicitor near Shaftesbury.
Do I choose a Licenced Conveyancer or Solicitor for conveyancing in Shaftesbury?
There are two types of lawyers who can conduct conveyancing in Shaftesbury namely licenced conveyancers or solicitors. The two can administer conveyancing services that you need to complete the sale or purchase of property. Both are duty bound to carry out Shaftesbury conveyancing on similar standards and guidelines so you may be sure that your conveyancing will be properly conducted and that all necessary procedures should be accurately attended to.
Having digested plenty of mortgage guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Shaftesbury solicitor - who is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Nationwide will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Nationwide will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Shaftesbury postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Nationwide, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Shaftesbury.
Our sealed bid on a house in Shaftesbury has been agreed to, the sellers do nevertheless have a dependent purchase. The sellers have offered on a flat, but it’s not yet agreed to, and are looking at other apartments booked. I have selected a high street conveyancing solicitor in Shaftesbury. What do I do now? At what point should I apply for the mortgage with Santander?
It is usual to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs prematurely (home loan application is approx £1k, then survey, Shaftesbury conveyancing search costs, etc). First, you should check that your lawyer is on the Santander approved list. Regarding the subsequent phase this very much depends on the specifics of your case, desire for the property and on the state of the market. In a buoyant market some buyers would apply for the mortgage with Santander and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.
I'm buying a new build house in Shaftesbury with a loan from Halifax. The builders would not move on the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The property agent suggested that I not to tell my lawyer about this side-deal as it may impact my loan with the bank. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Shaftesbury. Before I get started I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.
If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Shaftesbury - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
I purchased a garden flat in Shaftesbury, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable flats in Shaftesbury with over 90 years remaining are worth £186,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2079
With only 53 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £27,600 and £31,800 as well as legals.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.