My lawyer in Westerham is not on the The Royal Bank of Scotland Conveyancing Panel. Can I still use my family solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the The Royal Bank of Scotland panel?
The limited options available to you here include:
- Carry on with your preferred Westerham lawyers but The Royal Bank of Scotland will need to retain a lawyer on their panel. This will result in additional overall conveyancing charges and result in delays.
- Choose a new lawyer to act in the purchase, not forgetting to check they are The Royal Bank of Scotland approved.
- Try to convince your The Royal Bank of Scotland based solicitor to seek to join the The Royal Bank of Scotland panel
We have agreed to purchase a house in Westerham. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Barclays have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
Given that your lender is Barclays your lawyer must check the formal requirements outlined in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Barclays. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook contains minimum specifications for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancing practitioners are required to report to Barclays where a lease does not meet these provisions. The provisions relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not isolated to Westerham.
The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Westerham. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I would like to complain about the lender. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?
Most banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are sorted out very quickly. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.
I can not work out if my mortgage offer requires a lease extension. I have called into my local Westerham building society branch on various occasions and was reassured it wasn't an issue and they will lend. My Westerham conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- called and was told they refuse to lend in accordance with their published requirements. I simply don't know who is right.
The conveyancer has to follow the CML Handbook section two conditions for your lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
Should our lawyer be raising enquiries regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in Westerham.
Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers dealing with homes in Westerham. Some people will acquire a property in Westerham, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical damage, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Conveyancers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a various searches that can be initiated by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which should figure out the risks in Westerham. The standard completed inquiry forms supplied to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) includes a standard question of the vendor to determine if the property has suffered from flooding. If flooding has previously occurred which is not disclosed by the seller, then a buyer could commence a compensation claim as a result of such an misleading answer. The purchaser’s lawyers will also commission an environmental search. This will reveal whether there is any known flood risk. If so, additional investigations should be carried out.
4 months have elapsed following my purchase conveyancing in Westerham completed. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £170,000. 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 property 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 looking for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and found one near me in Westerham I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it only has 61 years on the lease. There is not much else in Westerham in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?
If you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be an issue. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 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 current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.
I'm purchasing a house in Westerham. I have found my conveyancer's company on the Law Society's list, but I can't locate my conveyancer's name on the list. Is this a big problem?
Not all staff in the law firm must be listed by the regulator. Provided there is someone qualified to 'oversee' the transaction, the actual day-to-day activity can be undertaken by unlicensed staff.