My husband and I are planning to acquire a 3 bedroom flat in Waltham Abbey with a mortgage. We have a Waltham Abbey lawyer, however the bank says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel firms or continue with our Waltham Abbey conveyancing practitioner as well as pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. This feels very unfair; 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 Waltham Abbey conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Our lawyer has discovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the property we are buying in Waltham Abbey. The other side have put forward defective title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our property lawyer has advised that he must be satisfied that the lender is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the lender?
Regardless of the fact that you have a mortgage offer from the lender does not mean to say that the property will meet their conditions for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. You and the mortgage company are the client. The appropriate lender requirements have to be complied with.
We're in Waltham Abbey, FTBs purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Virgin Money , and our solicitor is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no solicitor should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
I am buying a new build house in Waltham Abbey with a loan from Halifax. The builders would not reduce the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent advised me not to tell my lawyer about this side-deal as it may put at risk my mortgage with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.
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 opted to have a survey completed on a house in Waltham Abbey ahead of retaining lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the house. Our surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will not give a mortgage on this type of property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different requirements for example to Halifax. If you e-mail us we can check with the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Waltham Abbey. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Waltham Abbey especially if they are acquainted with such properties in Waltham Abbey.
Are the Waltham Abbey conveyancing lawyers identified as being on the mortgage company conveyancing panel, together with their details provided by the lender?
Waltham Abbey firms and firms carrying out conveyancing in Waltham Abbey themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the mortgage company conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from the bank directly.