Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my solicitor in Welwyn Garden City is not listed on my bank's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the quality of her conveyancing?
That would more than likely be a wrong assumption to make. There are plenty of reasonable explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator revealed 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The most common reasons for removal are: (1) lack of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. If you are concerned you should simply call the Welwyn Garden City conveyancing firm and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your lender.
My uncle passed away last year and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Welwyn Garden City. The house had a relatively small loan remaining of approximately £8000. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Nationwide, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
Given you plan to re-mortgage then Nationwide will require that you use a conveyancer on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Nationwide conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Nationwide mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Bank of Ireland, do Welwyn Garden City property lawyers incur an annual charge to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are unaware of any lender fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
We previously chose solicitors based in Welwyn Garden City on the Nationwide solicitor approved list. They have just billed me a further charge for handling the Nationwide mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Nationwide?
Unfortunately, so long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your solicitor may charge a fee for this. This charge is not dictated by Nationwide but by your Welwyn Garden City conveyancer. Some firms on the Nationwide panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
I have paid off my mortgage with Barclays. I assume I don't need a Welwyn Garden City property lawyer on the Barclays panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Barclays mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Barclays mortgage from the register. Barclays, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Barclays has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Barclays has instructed the Land Registry to do so
It has been 2 months since my purchase conveyancing in Welwyn Garden City took place. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £160,000. 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.
I am buying a new build apartment in Welwyn Garden City. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.
Here is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Welwyn Garden City
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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. The Vendor must covenant to keep unoccupied units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what should have been a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Welwyn Garden City is where the house is located. Is there any guidance you can impart?
Flying freeholds in Welwyn Garden City are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Welwyn Garden City you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Welwyn Garden City 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 premises.