We are purchasing a 1 bedroom apartment in Wargrave with a mortgage. We have a Wargrave lawyer, however the mortgage company advise she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel conveyancing practices or continue with our Wargrave conveyancer as well as pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. This feels very unfair; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’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 Wargrave conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Please explain the implications if my lawyer’s firm is expelled from the Barclays Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Wargrave?
The first thing to point out is that, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.
I am buying my first flat in Wargrave benefiting from help to buy. The sellers refused to budge the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative suggested that I not reveal to my conveyancer about the extras as it may affect my mortgage with Barclays Direct. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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 opted to have a survey completed on a property in Wargrave in advance of instructing conveyancers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor has said that some lenders tend not give a loan on a flying freehold premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different requirements for example to Nationwide. If you contact us we can check via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Wargrave. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
I have been pointed in your direction by numerous estate agents in Wargrave to find a solicitor using your seach tool. Is there a financial upside for Estate Agents to promote your services rather than alternative conveyancing organisations?
We don’t offer any financial incentive for sending work to this site. We found it would be just too difficult to pay a commission as a client could think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
I pay a service charge for my property in Wargrave. As a result of personal circumstances I fell into arrears with remittance. The management company agreed a clearance plan but there is still around £1750 due in arrears.
I want to sell and I am concerned this will threaten to derail the sale if I have to pay off the arrears now. Do I have to settle before - is this viable?
It would be wise to speak with the property lawyer dealing with your Wargrave conveyancing but one option could be to arrange for the arrears to be passed to the buyers. The sale price they pay would be reduced to reflect the amount of debt they assume. They would then discharge the fees once they are the owners.