My partner and I are planning to purchase a house in Steyning and have instructed a Steyning conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Chelsea Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Steyning conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Steyning solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
The Steyning conveyancing firm handling our Steyning conveyancing has identified a difference when comparing the surveyor’s assumptions in the home valuation report and what is in the title deeds. My solicitor has advised that he is obliged to ensure that the bank is happy with this discrepancy and is content to go ahead. Is my solicitor’s approach appropriate?
Your conveyancer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
I am purchasing a new build house in Steyning benefiting from help to buy. The builders refused to reduce the price so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The estate agent told me not reveal to my solicitor about this deal as it would affect my loan with the lender. 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 decided to have a survey done on a house in Steyning ahead of instructing lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. My surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will refuse to issue a mortgage on this type of property.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. If you call us we can check with the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Steyning. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Steyning especially if they are familiar with such properties in Steyning.
I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Steyning. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.
Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Steyning - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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 bought a 1 bedroom flat in Steyning, conveyancing formalities finalised September 2010. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar properties in Steyning with a long lease are worth £202,000. The ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease ends on 21st October 2081
With only 56 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £29,500 and £34,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.
To what extent are Steyning conveyancing solicitors duty bound by the Law Society to supply clear conveyancing figures?
Inbuilt into the Solicitors Code of Conduct are specific rules and regulations as to how the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) allow solicitors to publicise their fees to clients.The Law Society have practice note giving advice on how to publicise transparent charges to avoid breaching any such rule. Practice notes are not legal advice issued by the Law Society and is not to be interpreted as the only standard of good practice a conveyancing solicitor should adhere to. The Practice Note does, nevertheless, represent the Law Society’s view of acceptable practice for publicising conveyancing charges, and accordingly it’s a recommended read for any solicitor or conveyancer in Steyning or or elsewhere in the country.