We are buying a 1 bedroom apartment in Aldershot with a mortgage. We have a Aldershot lawyer, but the lender says she’s not on their "panel". It appears that we have no option but to appoint one of the lender panel solicitors or retain our Aldershot property lawyer and pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. We consider that this is inequitable; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you 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. Another option that might be available is for your Aldershot conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
We are due to exchange on the purchase of a property in Aldershot but as a result of wreckage from the recent storms I have was able negotiate recompense from the vendor of £3k in the form of a deduction in the price. This was going to be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process however Co-operative will not agree to this. Should they have been approached?
Any lawyer that is on the Co-operative approved list is duty bound to disclose to Co-operative of any changes to the purchase price. If you prohibit your conveyancing practitioner to disclose the price change to Co-operative then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Co-operative and you would have to appoint a new property lawyer for your conveyancing in Aldershot.
Is there a list of Bank of Ireland panel solicitors in Aldershot on the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Website?
No. There is no such directory service on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. Very few mortgage companies make their panel listings available over the internet. If you are in need of a Aldershot solicitor on the Bank of Ireland please use our tool.
is it true that all Aldershot solicitor practices on the Nottingham conveyancing panel are governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Nottingham conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of banks do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the organisation would be overseen by the CLC.
I am buying a property in Aldershot. One unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Clydesdale have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Clydesdale your lawyer must comply with the formal instructions contained in Part 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Clydesdale. The CML Handbook includes minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancers are required to report to Clydesdale where a lease does not meet these conditions. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not isolated to Aldershot.
Various online forums that I have frequented warn that are a common reason for delay in Aldershot house deals. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released conclusions of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the top 10 causes of hindrances in the conveyancing process. Local searches are unlikely to be the root cause of slowing down conveyancing in Aldershot.
The deeds to our home are lost. The solicitors who dealt with the conveyancing in Aldershot 4 years ago have long since closed. Will I be able to sell the house?
Gone are the days when you need to have the physical deeds to establish that you are the owner of your registered land or property, as the Land Registry have everything they need in a digital format.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in Aldershot I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Aldershot for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease may be problematic. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.