My husband and I are looking to purchase a property in Thornton Cleveleys and are in fact using a Thornton Cleveleys conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Nottingham Building Society have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Thornton Cleveleys solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
If you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for 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 lender 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 bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Thornton Cleveleys solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
I am purchasing a new build duplex in Thornton Cleveleys and my lawyer is informing me that she is duty bound to the bank to disclose incentives from the developer. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange contracts and my preference is not to delay the conveyancing. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property lawyer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
We previously appointed solicitors located in Thornton Cleveleys on the Nationwide solicitor approved list. They have just billed me a separate amount for the legal aspects of the Nationwide mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Nationwide?
Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your property lawyer may levy a fee for this. This fee is not set by Nationwide but by your Thornton Cleveleys property lawyer. Plenty of firms on the Nationwide panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Thornton Cleveleys. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How do I make a complaint?
Most lenders have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Team at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are sorted out effectively and efficiently. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.
I can not work out if my mortgage offer obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have telephoned my Thornton Cleveleys building society branch on numerous occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they will lend. My Thornton Cleveleys conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they refuse to lend based on their specific requirements. Who do I believe?
Your solicitor must comply with the CML Handbook section two requirements for your lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the lender 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 remaining.
I purchased a semi-detached Georgian house in Thornton Cleveleys. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Yorkshire Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the matching address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be 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 Thornton Cleveleys and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the position with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the conveyancing.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I have offered on a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Thornton Cleveleys is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Thornton Cleveleys are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Thornton Cleveleys you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Thornton Cleveleys may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.
How much will conveyancing in Thornton Cleveleys cost?
Almost all Thornton Cleveleys conveyancing firms will charge a fixed fee. If further work becomes necessary during the transaction your lawyer must advise you in writing of any supplemental costs for such work immediately it becomes foreseeable. Some work on a no move no fee principle, others will charge a proportion of the agreed fee, according to the point at which the conveyancing aborts.
We would recommend that you obtain a few firms to supply you a quotation.