I am progressing with the sale of my home in Audley and the estate agent has just telephoned to say that the purchasers are appointing a new conveyancer. The reason given is that the bank will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named mortgage company only deal with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Audley ?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in the last few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.
Mortgage companies justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
My relative suggested that if I am purchasing in Audley I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is usually included in the estimate for your Audley conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Audley around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Audley Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Audley Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Audley.
How does conveyancing in Audley differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Audley come to us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is built. This is because builders in Audley tend to acquire the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Audley or who has acted in the same development.
Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Audley before retaining solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. My surveyor has said that some lenders may not give a loan on such a house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to call us we can investigate further via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Audley. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Audley to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
My uncle has recommend that I appoint his conveyancing solicitors in Audley. Do I follow his recommendation?
Much as we are happy to recommend a Audley conveyancing lawyer the ideal way to find a conveyancing practitioner is to have referrals from friends or relatives who have actually previously instructed the conveyancer you're are thinking of instructing.
Last October I purchased a leasehold house in Audley. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
Audley Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to buying
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Best to be warned if changing the roof or some other major work is anticipated to be shared between the leasehold owners and will materially increase the the service charges or necessitate a one off invoice. On the whole the outlay for major works tend not to be included within service charges, although there some managing agents in Audley ask leasehold owners to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major works.