I had intended to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in West Sussex for our house move. Our broker has since notified us that our mortgage lenders The Mortgage Works won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unduly restrictive?
Mortgage Companies in the main imposes restrictions either the category or the number of conveyancing practices on their approved list of lawyers. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a law practice must not be a sole practitioner. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of solicitor practices they use to act for them. You should note that The Mortgage Works have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of The Mortgage Works Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a primary driver in the reduction of solicitor panels since 2008 even though there are differing views about the level of solicitor engagement in some of that fraud. Figures from the Land Registry indicate that plenty of law firms, including some in or near West Sussex only execute very few conveyances per annum.
My father pointed out to me me that in buying a property in West Sussex there could be various restrictions limiting what one can do in terms of external changes to a property. Is this right?
We are aware of anumerous of properties in West Sussex which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external changes. Part of the conveyancing in West Sussex should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
My wife and I are in the process of looking at flats in West Sussex and I am about to put in an offer. Is it advisable to have my conveyancing practitioner on ‘stand by’? I will be getting a mortgage with Leeds Building Society.
You should start requesting conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the selling agent. Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Leeds Building Society, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
I am due to exchange contracts on my house. I had a double glazing fitted in April 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, Nottingham are being a right pain. The West Sussex solicitor who is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but Nottingham are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Nottingham have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Nottingham have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Nottingham may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
We are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our house in West Sussex and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was constructed land that was not decontaminated. A local conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers instructed an online conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in West Sussex. We have lived in West Sussex for 5 years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to obtain confirmation that there is no issue.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing lawyer currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You need to enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same illness)
I am purchasing my first flat in West Sussex with a loan from Leeds Building Society. The sellers would not move on the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not to tell my lawyer about this extras as it would affect my mortgage with Leeds Building Society. Is this normal?.
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 am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and identified one round the corner in West Sussex I like with a park and station nearby, however it only has 52 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in West Sussex suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term may be problematic. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least twenty four months you could request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this.
What are my options where I am dissatisfied with the conveyancer who did our conveyancing in West Sussex?
We live in an imperfect world, and is is a fact of life that sometimes matters do not go as planned. However there is recourse where you were dissatisfied with your conveyancing in West Sussex. This varies from trying to resolve matters directly with them, through to reporting a lawyer to their governing body. If you remain dissatisfied you may consider getting in touch with the Legal Ombudsman.