Me and my fiance are purchasing a 3 bedroom apartment in Yiewsley with a mortgage. We have a Yiewsley lawyer, but the bank says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel solicitors or continue with our Yiewsley lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Yiewsley conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My fiance and I decided to purchase a newbuild apartment in Yiewsley with a mortgage from Skipton Building Society.We have a Yiewsley conveyancing practitioner but Skipton Building Society advised that he's not listed on their approved list of member firms. It seems we have little choice but to instruct a Skipton Building Society panel solicitor or keep our local solicitor and fork out for one of their panel ones to act for them. We feel as though this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The home loan offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, a common one being that conveyancers needs to be on the Skipton Building Society solicitor panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of solicitors on their panels: a borrower could find one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Skipton Building Society
My wife and I are in the process of viewing flats in Yiewsley and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it wise to have my conveyancer on ‘stand by’? I am planning to take a home loan with Co-operative.
It would be wise to commence your search sooner rather than later. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their contact information on to the selling agent. As you are getting a mortgage with Co-operative, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Co-operative conveyancing panel.
The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Yiewsley. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
Most banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are resolved effectively and efficiently. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.
My offer was accepted on an apartment in Yiewsley on 16/12/2022, valuation was booked 3 days later, all came back fine. Solicitor retained, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Principality and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Principality conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?
A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Principality to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Principality conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and found one near me in Yiewsley I like with open areas and station in the vicinity, however it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Yiewsley in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
If you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will be problematic. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can 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 with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.
We are a couple of weeks into a leasehold purchase having been recommend to conveyancers by the local agent to do our conveyancing in Yiewsley. We are not happy. Could you help me find new lawyers?
They would need to be very poor in order to consider changing them. Has your mortgage offer been sent? In the event that it has you must inform them of the new contact details and get the offer are issued to the new lawyers. The conveyancer should be on the mortgage company panel to avoid supplemental charges and delays. That should be your first question of the new solicitors. The find a solicitor tool should help you find a lender approved conveyancer for your conveyancing in Yiewsley
I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Yiewsley where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Yiewsley conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
I am the registered owner of a first flat in Yiewsley. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium due for the purchase of the freehold?
Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Yiewsley conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Yiewsley property is 164 Nestles Avenue in October 2013. The tribunal agreed with the proposed price of £20,158 for the freehold and determined that that sum is the amount to be paid into court This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 69 years.