I am one month into the sale of my home in West Hampstead and the estate agent has just text me to say that the purchasers are swapping law firm. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a leading mortgage company only deal with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in West Hampstead ?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for decades.
Lending institutions attribute this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
Should lawyers request an advanced payment for conveyancing in West Hampstead?
Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in West Hampstead your solicitor will request that you place them with funds to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. This will be the total of the cost of the conveyancing searches. If any deposit is payable against the total price then this should be asked for immediately before contracts are exchanged. The final balance that is needed will be payable shortly before completion.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in West Hampstead?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in West Hampstead. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
I'm buying my first flat in West Hampstead with a mortgage from Godiva Mortgages Ltd. The sellers would not budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The property agent advised me not inform my solicitor about the extras as it may affect my loan with Godiva Mortgages Ltd. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on last month in what should have been a quick, no chain conveyancing. West Hampstead is the location of the property. Is there any guidance you can impart?
Flying freeholds in West Hampstead are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in West Hampstead you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in West Hampstead 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.
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor for some conveyancing in West Hampstead. I've chance upon a web site which looks to be the ideal answer If it is possible to get all this stuff done via email that would be ideal. Do I need to be wary? What are the potential pitfalls?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?