It has come to my attention via my mortgage broker that my Amesbury solicitor is not on the bank Conveyancing panel. How can I check?
The sensible course of action for you to take is to call your Amesbury lawyer directly. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to notify you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the approved list of lawyers for your mortgage company.
My conveyancer has identified a a legal deficiency with the lease for the property we are buying in Amesbury. The other side have suggested title insurance as a solution. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our conveyancer says that he must be satisfied that the mortgage company is willing to move forward with this solution. Are we the client or is the mortgage company ?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the risk of a conflict of interest, you and the lender are the client. Your lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the mortgage company can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your conveyancer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
We are purchasing a 2 bedroom apartment in Amesbury with a residential mortgage from Barclays .We like our Amesbury conveyancing solicitor but Barclays informed us his firm is not on their "panel". we are left little option but to use a Barclays panel lawyer or retain our preferred solicitor and fork out for a Barclays panel lawyer to act for them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that Barclays use our lawyer?
No, not really. The home loan issued to you contains terms and conditions, a common one being that lawyers needs to be on the Barclays approved list. 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. A further alternative is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Barclays
If you had a top tip for choosing a conveyancing solicitor in Amesbury what would it be?
We would encourage you not to go for the lowest Amesbury conveyancing fees. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in ahead of time.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unseasoned as FTB of a garden flat in Amesbury. Do I receive the keys to the premises on the completion date from my lawyer? If so, I will find a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Amesbury?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will arrange to send the purchase money to the seller's solicitors, and once they have received this, you will be called to pick up the keys from the property Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.
We were going to get a AIP from Aldermore this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Aldermore recommend any Amesbury solicitors on the Aldermore conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?
You will need to appoint Amesbury solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Aldermore through the process.
We're novice buyers - had an offer accepted, yet the agent informed us that the vendor will only proceed if we appoint the agent's preferred conveyancers as they are insisting on a ‘quick sale’. My instinct tells me that we should use a family solicitor accustomed to conveyancing in Amesbury
It is highly unlikely the owners are driving this. Should the vendor want ‘a quick sale', turning down a genuine purchaser is counter productive. Try to communicate with the owners directly and make the point that (a)you are serious buyers (b)you are ready to go, with finances arranged © you do not need to sell (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you will continue to instruct your preferred Amesbury conveyancing lawyers - as opposed tothe ones that will earn their estate agent a referral fee or achieve conveyancing figures pre-set by head office.
I have just started marketing my 2 bed flat in Amesbury. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed, but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?
The sensible thing to do is pay the invoice as you normally would as all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.
I invested in buying a split level flat in Amesbury, conveyancing was carried out 4 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Amesbury with a long lease are worth £191,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2078
With 53 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £27,600 and £31,800 plus costs.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.