I am selling my ground floor flat in Swanscombe and the EA has just e-mailed to advise that the buyers are appointing a new conveyancer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the mortgage company will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named mortgage company only work with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Swanscombe ?
Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in recent years big names such as Nationwide, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for many years.
Banks blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. 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. 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. The purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
The owners have rather assertive vendors who has recommended a lock out contract with a deposit two thousand pounds. Is it wise to enter into such agreements?
Lock out contracts are agreements binding a home vendor and purchaser giving the buyer exclusive rights to purchase the property for a certain period of time. Essentially, a lock out agreement is a contract stating that you will receive a contract at a later time being the contract for the actual sale. It is generally utilised for buyer confidence though in some cases, the seller may enjoy an upside from such agreements as well. There are numerous pros and cons to using them but you should to check with your lawyer but beware that it may end up costing you extra in conveyancing fees. In light of these reasons these contracts are rare in relation to conveyancing in Swanscombe.
We wanted to use a conveyancing solicitor in Swanscombe for our house purchase. Our financial adviser has since advised us that our mortgage company Bank of Scotland won't deal with them. Surely this is unfair competition?
Mortgage Companies in the main imposes restrictions either the type or the number of conveyancing solicitors on their panel. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the profile of firm, a few banks have reduced the amount of solicitor practices they allow to act for them. You should note that Bank of Scotland have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Bank of Scotland Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the reduction of conveyancing panels since 2008 even though there are mixed views concerning the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Figures from the Land Registry indicate that plenty of law firms, including some in or near Swanscombe only carry out a couple conveyances per annum.
A relative advised me that if I am buying in Swanscombe I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is occasionally included in the estimate for your Swanscombe conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Swanscombe around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Swanscombe Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Swanscombe.
Planning to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Swanscombe. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?
The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Swanscombe should include some of the following:
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Whether the lease restricts you from letting out the flat, or having a home office for business Defining your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the block.By way of example, does the lease permit a right of way over an accessway or hallways? What options are open to you if another tenant in the building is in violation of a provision in their lease? Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat? An explanation concerning the obligations as set out in the lease to pay service charges - in respect of the block, and the more general rights a leaseholder enjoys
Having spent years of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Swanscombe. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to make a decision on the sum to be paid.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Swanscombe residence is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case affected 13 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 76 years.
I am buying a maisonette and cash is in place. My lawyer has been supplied with with 2 separate forms of photographic identification, bank statement, multiple utility bills. Now he needs a copy from a probate lawyer acknowledging that the funds are in order and that it has come from inheritance and not via illegitimate means.
In today’s world you will not be able to complete any Swanscombe conveyancing transaction without first providing evidence of your identity to your lawyers. This usually takes the form of a either your passport or driving licence and a utility bill. Remember if you are providing your driving licence as evidence of ID it must be both the paper part and photo card part, one is not acceptable without the other. Establishing of your source of funds is required under Money Laundering laws.