My husband and I are hoping to purchase a house in The Hyde and are in fact using a The Hyde conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Leeds Building Society have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our The Hyde solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. 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 Accreditation 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 lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred The Hyde lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Due to move into my new home in The Hyde next Friday. My conveyancer now wants me to supply her with evidence of content and building insurance for the property as he says that he has to check this in his capacity as lawyer for the lender. What does the insurance need 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 conditions. These obligations are not specific to conveyancing in The Hyde.
We are buying a flat and need a conveyancing solicitor in The Hyde who is on the Principality conveyancing panel. Can you recommend a local solicitor?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Principality . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in The Hyde.
I am purchasing a property in The Hyde. One unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Santander have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As your lender is Santander your lawyer must check the conveyancing requirements contained in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Santander. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook stipulates minimum specifications for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancing practitioners are required to report to Santander where a lease does not meet these requirements. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not restricted to The Hyde.
We were going to get a AIP from Coventry BS this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Coventry BS recommend any The Hyde solicitors on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?
You will need to appoint The Hyde solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Coventry BS through the process.
I have instructed a The Hyde conveyancer having made sure that they are on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Co-operative will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Co-operative will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own The Hyde surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
four months have elapsed since my purchase conveyancing in The Hyde concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £170,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
After years of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in The Hyde. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to judgment on the sum to be paid.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a The Hyde residence is First Floor Flat 61 Wilberforce Road in March 2014. The premium payable was £10,130 and the case was remitted back to the Willesden County Court to effect the Vesting Order (Claim No 3W103100). This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 71 years.
What are the frequently found deficiencies that you witness in leases for The Hyde properties?
There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in The Hyde. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:
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A duty to insure the building Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
You will encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, The Mortgage Works, and Alliance & Leicester all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.