My partner and I are looking to acquire a flat in Wythenshawe and are in fact using a Wythenshawe conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. TSB have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Wythenshawe conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the mortgage company. 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 Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your bank 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Wythenshawe lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
We have rather brash sellers who has insisted on a exclusivity contract with a payment 10k. Are such agreements sensible?
There are two primary concerns with signing a lock out agreement (sometimes known as a no-shop agreement) is that it diverts attention away from making progress with the conveyancing work, so in the absence of it needing little or no negotiation then it could turn out to be unhelpful. It is not promoted amongst Wythenshawe conveyancing practitioners for this reason. A further concern is the extent of the remedies available - a jilted purchaser is not likely to win an injunction to bar the owner disposing of the property to an alternative purchaser, so the only remedy open via the agreement will be the reimbursement of wasted costs and, in limited circumstances, the additional payment of penalties.
is it true that all Wythenshawe conveyancing solicitors on the TSB conveyancing panel are overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As solicitors, in order to be on the TSB conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the SRA. The majority of mortgage companies do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such practice would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
I am buying a property in Wythenshawe. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Bank of Ireland have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As you are obtaining a mortgage with Bank of Ireland your lawyer must check the formal requirements outlined in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Bank of Ireland. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook stipulates minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and lawyers are required to report to Bank of Ireland where a lease does not meet these specifications. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not restricted to Wythenshawe.
I have paid off my mortgage with Santander. I assume I don't need a Wythenshawe property lawyer on the Santander panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Santander 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 Santander mortgage from the register. Santander, 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 Santander has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Santander has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I used Stirling Law several years ago for my conveyancing in Wythenshawe. I now require my file but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Wythenshawe of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
How does the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 affect my business offices in Wythenshawe and how can your lawyers assist?
The particular law that you refer to affords security of tenure to commercial lessees, granting the a statutory right to apply to court for a continuation of occupancy when the lease comes to an end. There are certain specified grounds that a landlord can refrain from granting a lease renewal and the rules are complex. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Wythenshawe is one of our hundreds of areas of the UK in which our lawyers are based
I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Wythenshawe. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Wythenshawe ?
The majority of houses in Wythenshawe are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Wythenshawe so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Wythenshawe conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer will report to you on the legal implications.
Wythenshawe Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying
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If a Wythenshawe lease has less than 80 years it will affect the value of the property. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are happy with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will probably require a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. For most Wythenshawelease extensions you will need to own the premises for two years in order to be entitled to extend the lease. It would be a good idea to discover if the the lease includes any onerous restrictions in the lease. For example it is very common in Wythenshawe leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Wythenshawe. If you love the flatin Wythenshawe however your dog is not allowed to live with you then you will be faced difficult choice. What is the service charge and ground rent on the flat?