I am selling my home in Sittingbourne and the estate agent has just e-mailed to advise that the buyers are changing their solicitor. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only engage with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a leading lender only deal with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Sittingbourne ?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in recent years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.
Lenders blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some 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 unlikely to have any impact on this.
Do conveyancers request money on account when it comes to conveyancing in Sittingbourne?
If you are buying a property in Sittingbourne your solicitor will ask you put them with funds to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. Ordinarily this is needed to cover the fees of the Local Authority Search. When the deposit is payable against the total price then this should be needed immediately prior to contracts are exchanged. The closing balance that is needed will be payable a few days ahead of the day of completion.
A friend informed me that in purchasing a property in Sittingbourne there may be various restrictions prohibiting external alterations to a property. Is this right?
We are aware of anumerous of properties in Sittingbourne which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Sittingbourne should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Sittingbourne. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Co-operative have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Co-operative your lawyer must comply with the conveyancing instructions contained in Part 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Co-operative. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook includes minimum specifications for solar panel roof-space leases, and lawyers are required to report to Co-operative where a lease does not satisfy these conditions. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not limited to Sittingbourne.
The formalities of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Sittingbourne. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How do I make a complaint?
All lenders have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Team at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are resolved effectively and efficiently. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.
I'm purchasing my first flat in Sittingbourne benefiting from help to buy. The builders refused to reduce the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The property agent suggested that I not to tell my conveyancer about the side-deal as it may affect my mortgage with the lender. 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.
Are there any apps to assist me to locate a Sittingbourne solicitor on the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society conveyancing panel? I am a keen cyclist and am willing to travel upto 10kilometers to meet the lawyer.
Feel free to make use of the facility on this website. Please choose the bank and your location and you will see a number of Sittingbourne conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have detailed some Sittingbourne conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can telephone them to verify whether they are on the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society panel
I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have since found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Sittingbourne. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Sittingbourne ?
The majority of houses in Sittingbourne are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Sittingbourne in which case you should be looking for a Sittingbourne conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.
I own a 1 bedroom flat in Sittingbourne, conveyancing formalities finalised December 2000. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Sittingbourne with over 90 years remaining are worth £191,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2074
With 54 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £31,400 and £36,200 as well as professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.