I am in the throes of switching my domestic mortgage to a BTL Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage. I have been informed by my broker that I must appoint a lawyer as part of the process. I spoke to my previous Wellington conveyancing practitioner who acted on my behalf when I initially bought the property. The quote provided of £470 has taken me by surprise as its a refinance than a sale or purchase.
The estimate fees seem a little high. If you shop around you may be able to shave off some of the expense by perhaps a hundred pounds. On the other hand, assuming were content with the conveyancing the firm provided you couldlive to rue choosing an a cheaper solicitor. If is important to be sure the conveyancer can also act for Accord Mortgages Ltd. Do make use of our search tool to choose a Wellington conveyancing firm on the Accord Mortgages Ltd member panel, which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Wellington.
My partner and I are buying a newly built flat in Wellington and my conveyancer is telling me that she is duty bound to the lender to disclose incentives from the developer. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange contracts and I would rather not delay matters. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property lawyer. A precondition to being on a lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
I own a freehold property in Wellington but still charged rent, why is this and what is this?
It’s unusual for properties in Wellington and has limited impact for conveyancing in Wellington but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges have existed for many centuries, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the generation of new rentcharges post 1977.
Old rentcharges can now be redeemed by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 is to be dispensed with completely.
I happen to be the sole recipient of my late mum's will with all property in now in my sole name, including the my former home in Wellington. The Wellington property was put into my name in September. I want to move. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders 6 month 'rule', meaning my property ownership will be considered the same way as if I'd bought the property in September. Do I have to wait 6 months to sell?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook requires solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you may be impacted by that. How practical a view lenders take of it, depend on the lender as this requirement is principally there to pick up on subsales or the wholesaling and assigning of property.
When it comes to lenders such as Skipton, do Wellington conveyancing practitioners incur a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are not aware of any lender fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Wellington conveyancer having checked that they are on the Barclays conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Barclays will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Barclays 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. Your property lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Wellington postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Barclays, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Wellington.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Wellington. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.
Here is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Wellington
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The Vendor must covenant to keep unoccupied units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on two weeks back in what was supposed to be a quick, no chain conveyancing. Wellington is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Wellington are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Wellington you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Wellington may determine 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 property.