I am progressing with the sale of my home in South Brent and the EA has just e-mailed to advise that the purchasers are swapping solicitor. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only deal with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a leading lender only deal with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in South Brent ?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.
Banks point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say 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 purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
My partner and I intend to remortgage our penthouse in South Brent with HSBC. We have a son 18 who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the property is repossessed. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this document specific to the HSBC conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 3 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to HSBC. This is solely used to protect HSBC if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of HSBC had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
Completed the sale of my flat in South Brent last June but the buyer keeps SMS messaging me to say her conveyancer is waiting to hear from mine. What should have happened now that I have sold?
After completion of your sale your lawyer should deliver the transfer deeds and all additional paperwork to the purchaser's conveyancer. If applicable, your solicitor must also evidence that the home loan has been repaid to the buyers solicitors. There are no post completion requirements specific conveyancing in South Brent.
We are expecting a mortgage offer soon. The bank mentioned the loan came with free conveyancing. Is the implication that I have to appoint their panel conveyancer as I would prefer to use a South Brent based conveyancing firm?
You should check but the the probability is that appoint one of their panel conveyancers should you take up the "fee-free" deal. Contact the bank to check if they offer you a cash alternative. In the past a few lenders offered a £250 cashback as an alternative in which case that money can go towards the cost for your conveyancing solicitor near South Brent.
My wife and I purchased a semi-detached Georgian house in South Brent. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the matching property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in South Brent and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also check the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the conveyancing.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in South Brent. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.
Set out below is a sample of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in South Brent
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There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme.