We are planning to acquire a 3 bedroom apartment in Underwood with a mortgage. We like our Underwood conveyancer, however the bank says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel solicitors or continue with our Underwood property lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. We consider that this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Underwood conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Are the Underwood conveyancing solicitors identified as being on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel, together with their details provided by Kent Reliance?
Underwood conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Kent Reliance directly.
The Underwood conveyancing firm that I recently instructed on my house acquisition in Underwood have without warning shut down. I only went with them because I had to have a solicitor on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel and my preferred Underwood lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take £195 for searches. What are my options?
If you have an estate agent involved then inform them immediately so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers should be in a position to assist.
Am I right to be wary by brokers that I am dealing with are recommending a national conveyancing firm rather than a local Underwood conveyancing practice?
As is the case with lots of service providers, often suggestions from connections can be extremely useful or valuable. Nevertheless there are lots of parties with a vested interest in a conveyancing matter; estate agents, financial adviser and lenders might all suggest conveyancers to appoint. Sometimes these lawyers might be known to one of the organisations as experts in their field, but sometimes there exists a commercial relationship behind the recommendation. You have the right to select your own lawyer. You need to be aware that many mortgage providers specify a panel list of solicitors you have to use for the lender aspect of your home move.
I am looking for a conveyancing solicitor in Underwood for my home move. Can I see a solicitor's complaints history with the legal regulator?
You may search for documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations resulting from investigations commenced on or after 1 January 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For details about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's history, ring 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For callers outside the UK, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may recorded telephone calls for training reasons.
Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in Underwood. Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon, but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?
The sensible thing to do is clear the invoice as usual given that all rents and service charges will be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
I inherited a 2 bed flat in Underwood, conveyancing having been completed in 2008. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in Underwood with a long lease are worth £180,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2084
With just 59 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £20,900 and £24,200 plus professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.