I am hoping to move into my new home in St Annes next Thursday. My property lawyer now wants me to supply her with proof of content and building insurance for the property as as she informs me that she is duty bound to validate that it is in order for the bank. What risks does the mortgage company expect the insurance to cover?
Any lawyer on acting for banks would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in a lender’s Part 2 requirements. These obligations are not limited to conveyancing in St Annes.
Do I have to pop into the offices of the solicitor to execute the legal charge? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in St Annes so that I can attend their offices when needed.
Most approved lawyers for mortgage companies undertake their communications via the post, e-mail or over the phone. This means that they can undertake the legal work for your home move no matter where you live in the country. That being said you should see if you can still book an appointment to visit conveyancing lawyer if needed.
We had chosen conveyancers based in St Annes on the UBS solicitor panel. They are now charging me an additional charge for dealing with the UBS mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by UBS?
As unfair as it may appear, as long as it’s in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your conveyancer can levy a fee for this. This charge is not set by UBS but by your St Annes lawyer. Some firms on the UBS panel will levy an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
I have paid off my mortgage with Clydesdale. I assume I don't need a St Annes property lawyer on the Clydesdale panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Clydesdale mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Clydesdale mortgage from the register. Clydesdale, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Clydesdale has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Clydesdale has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I can not work out if my bank requires a lease extension. I have called my St Annes building society branch on numerous occasions and was told it does not affect the mortgage offer and they would lend. My St Annes conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- called to say that they will not lend based on their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. Who do I believe?
As long as the lawyer is on the mortgage company panel, she or he must comply with the CML Handbook requirements for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
I'm purchasing my first flat in St Annes with a loan from Skipton Building Society. The developers would not reduce the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The house builders rep told me not inform my solicitor about the deal as it could 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.
I opted to have a survey carried out on a property in St Annes prior to appointing solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. My surveyor advised that some lenders tend refuse to issue a mortgage on this type of property.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different requirements for example to Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can check with the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in St Annes. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in St Annes especially if they are accustomed to such properties in St Annes.
I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in St Annes. Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon, but I have recently received a quarterly service charge demand – Do I pay up?
The sensible thing to do is clear the service charge as you normally would because all rents and maintenance payments should be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice 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.
I inherited a ground floor flat in St Annes, conveyancing formalities finalised 6 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in St Annes with an extended lease are worth £190,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2083
With 61 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £18,100 and £20,800 as well as legals.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide 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 other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.