I am in the process of selling my home in Wythenshawe and the estate agent has just telephoned to say that the purchasers are swapping property lawyer. The excuse is that the bank will only deal with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a major lender only deal with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Wythenshawe ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms they are content to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.
Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
I am due to exchange buying a house in Wythenshawe but as a consequence of damage from the recent storms I have was able negotiate recompense from the current proprietors in the sum of £3k taking the form of a adjustment in the price. I had intended this to be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process however Coventry BS are not allowing this. Why were they notified?
Any solicitor being on a Coventry BS approved list is obliged to advise Coventry BS of any variations to the sale price. If you were to refuse your conveyancing practitioner to report the reduction to Coventry BS then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Coventry BS and you would have to appoint a new solicitor for your conveyancing in Wythenshawe.
The formalities of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Wythenshawe. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How do I make a complaint?
Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Team at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are sorted out effectively and efficiently. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.
I can not fathom if my bank requires a lease extension. I have telephoned my Wythenshawe bank branch on a couple of occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they will lend. My Wythenshawe conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- telephoned to say that they would not lend in accordance with their published requirements. Who do I believe?
The lawyer must follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook Part 2 specifications for your lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the lender 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 bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in Wythenshawe. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £225. Shortly after, the solicitor called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Coventry BS panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
I own a 4 bedroom Georgian house in Wythenshawe. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Leeds Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Wythenshawe and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the conveyancing.
I am buying my first flat in Wythenshawe with the aid of help to buy. The builders would not budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The sale representative told me not to tell my lawyer about the extras as it would put at risk my loan with the bank. 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 am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and identified one near me in Wythenshawe I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Wythenshawe for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?
Should you need a mortgage that many years may be problematic. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.