My partner and I are acquiring a new build flat in Albrighton and my conveyancer is informing me that she is duty bound to the mortgage company to reveal incentives from the builder. I am under pressure to exchange contracts and my preference is not to prolong deal. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancer. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Albrighton? Why is this being asked of me?
To satisfy the Money Laundering Regulations any Albrighton conveyancing firm will require evidence of your identity in all conveyancing transactions. This is normally dealt with by provision of a passport and an original bank statement or utility account evidencing where you reside.
Under Money Laundering Regulations, conveyancers are duty bound to investigate not simply the identity of conveyancing clients but also the origin of the money that they receive in respect of any matter. Refusal to disclose this may lead to your conveyancer ending their retainer with you, as clearly this will cause a conflict between the set Regulations and a refusal to disclose.
Your property lawyers will have an obligation to make a disclosure to the relevant authorities should they consider that any monies received by them may contravene the Money Laundering Regulations.
Me and my brother have a semi-detached Edwardian property in Albrighton. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Accord Mortgages Ltd. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the matching address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be 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 Albrighton and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.
I am buying my first flat in Albrighton with the aid of help to buy. The developers would not reduce the price so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not reveal to my lawyer about this side-deal as it will impact my loan with The Mortgage Works. Is this normal?.
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.
How do I identify a Albrighton law firm on the Platform Home Loans Ltd conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel upto 10kilometers to meet the solicitor.
You can use the search on this website. Please choose the lender and your location and you will see a number of Albrighton conveyancing lawyers based on proximity. We have listed some Albrighton conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can contact them to verify whether they are on the Platform Home Loans Ltd member panel
Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Albrighton conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Albrighton conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Albrighton conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions could be useful:
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How many lease extensions have they completed in Albrighton in the last 12 months? If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
I bought a garden flat in Albrighton, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2009. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding flats in Albrighton with over 90 years remaining are worth £260,000. The ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2099
You have 74 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £8,600 and £9,800 plus legals.
The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.