Is the fact that my solicitor in Abbeymeads is not listed on my lender's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the standard of her work?
It would not be wise to jump to that conclusion. There are plenty of reasonable explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator revealed 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The most common reasons for removal are: (1) lack of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Where you are concerned you should contact the Abbeymeads conveyancing practice and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your mortgage company.
My wife and I are buying a property in Abbeymeads. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a lawyer? At some point we will need to send money into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our money?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
I have paid off my mortgage with Lloyds. I assume I don't need a Abbeymeads lawyer on the Lloyds panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Lloyds 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 Lloyds mortgage from the register. Lloyds, 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 Lloyds has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Lloyds has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I am selling my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in June 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, Yorkshire BS are being pedantic. The Abbeymeads solicitor who is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Yorkshire BS are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Yorkshire BS have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Yorkshire BS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Yorkshire BS may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
What can a local search reveal about the house I am buying in Abbeymeads?
Abbeymeads conveyancing often commences with the ordering local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search company for instance Onsearch The local search plays a central part in most Abbeymeads conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any nasty surprises after you move into your new home. The search will supply information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen topic headings.
I'm buying a new build house in Abbeymeads with the aid of help to buy. The developers would not budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent advised me not to tell my solicitor about this deal as it would adversely affect my loan with The Mortgage Works. Should I keep quiet?.
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 decided to have a survey carried out on a property in Abbeymeads in advance of instructing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor has said that some mortgage companies tend not issue a mortgage on such a property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different requirements for example to Birmingham Midshires. If you e-mail us we can check with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Abbeymeads. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Abbeymeads to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
We are in the process of selling our flat in Abbeymeads. Conveyancing is fine but we are being charged an extortionate amount by the managing agents. So far we have issued a cheque for £250 for a leasehold management pack and then another £200 plus VAT for answers to questions supplied by the purchaser's conveyancer.
Neither you or your solicitor will have any control over the level of the fee for this information but the average fee for the information for Abbeymeads leasehold property is £360. For Abbeymeads conveyancing transactions it is usual for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no statutory obligation to answer these questions although many will agree to do so - albeit often at high prices disproportionate to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no legislation that requires set fees for administrative tasks. Nor is there any prescriptive time limit by which they are obliged to supply the information.