My partner and I are planning to buy a property in Wormwood Scrubs and have appointed a Wormwood Scrubs conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Alliance & Leicester have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Wormwood Scrubs conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Wormwood Scrubs lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
My lawyer has uncovered a defect with the lease for the apartment we are purchasing in Wormwood Scrubs. The other side have offered title insurance as a solution. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our solicitor has advised that he must ensure that the mortgage company is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the mortgage company ?
Notwithstanding that you have a mortgage offer from the lender does not mean to say that the property will meet their conditions for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. You and the mortgage company are the client. The appropriate lender requirements must be adhered to.
How does conveyancing in Wormwood Scrubs differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Wormwood Scrubs approach us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is ready to move into. This is because developers in Wormwood Scrubs usually purchase the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Wormwood Scrubs or who has acted in the same development.
Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Wormwood Scrubs in advance of retaining solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. My surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will refuse to issue a loan on such a home.
It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Nationwide. Should you wish to call us we can check via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Wormwood Scrubs. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Wormwood Scrubs to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor for residential conveyancing in Wormwood Scrubs. I have stumble upon a site which looks to be the ideal offering If there is a chance to get all the legals completed via phone that would be preferable. Do I need to be concerned? What should out be looking out for?
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?
I own a leasehold flat in Wormwood Scrubs. Conveyancing was finalised in last year. I have been told that I should not let the the remaining lease term to fall too short. Why is that a problem?
Wormwood Scrubs leasehold properties are for a prescribed period - normally just under one hundred years when they are first granted. However a significant appartments in Wormwood Scrubs were constructed or converted 20 or more years ago and so such leases now have under eighty years remaining. That may seem like a long time but Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage lenders tend to need leases to have at least seventy five years unexpired to be mortgageable. Accordingly when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are approaching eighty years. To increase the saleability of your property you should be thinking about whether to extend your lease well in advance of selling the property. You should note that there are advantages to doing so before the lease reaches even eighty years as when the lease falls below eighty years the amount to be paid to extend starts to get a lot more expensive.