I am selling my flat in Sipson and the EA has just text me to say that the purchasers are changing their solicitor. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only work with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a leading mortgage company only deal with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Sipson ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in recent years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.
Banks justify this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened 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 hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that 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 impact on this.
Me and my partner are purchasing a house in Sipson. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a solicitor? At some point we will need to deposit money into their account. What protection do 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.
We were going to get a OIP from Bank of Ireland this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Bank of Ireland recommend any Sipson solicitors on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?
You will need to appoint Sipson solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Bank of Ireland through the process.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Sipson. My financial adviser suggested a property lawyer. I paid an upfront payment of £200. A few days later, the solicitor contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Yorkshire BS panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
We are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our house in Sipson and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being built on contaminated land. A high street Sipson lawyer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the buyers instructed an internet conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Sipson. We have lived in Sipson for three years we know that this is a non issue. Should we contact our local Authority to get confirmation need.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor already. Are they able to advise? You need to enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same ailment)
I am purchasing my first flat in Sipson with the aid of help to buy. The sellers would not move on the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not inform my lawyer about the extras as it would adversely affect my mortgage with Halifax. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
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.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I have offered on two weeks back in what was supposed to be a simple, no chain conveyancing. Sipson is the location of the property. Can you offer any guidance?
Flying freeholds in Sipson are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Sipson you would need to get your solicitor to go 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 Sipson may determine 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 residence.
I’m about to sell my garden apartment in Sipson.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have recently had a yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?
The sensible thing to do is discharge the maintenance contribution as you normally would given that all ground rent and service payments should be allottedas part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process
