I am nearing exchange of contracts for my apartment in Barking and the EA has just called to say that the purchasers are appointing a new solicitor. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only engage with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a major lender only deal with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Barking ?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 15 years.
Lending institutions blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some 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. The purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
I used Arc property Solicitors a few years ago for my conveyancing in Barking. Now, I need my files but the law firm has closed. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Barking of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I'm purchasing a new build house in Barking with a loan from TSB. The developers refused to budge the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The estate agent told me not inform my conveyancer about this deal as it may jeopardize my loan with the lender. 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.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Barking in advance of instructing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the property. My surveyor advised that some banks may not grant a mortgage on this type of property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to call us we can investigate further with the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Barking. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Barking to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
Do I need to be wary by estate agents that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use a national conveyancing firm rather than a High Street Barking conveyancing practice?
As is the case with many service providers, often suggestions from connections can be very helpful. But there are numerous people with a vested interest in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, financial adviser and mortgage companies may suggest conveyancers to instruct. On occasion the conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but occasionally there exists a financial incentive behind the recommendation. You have the discretion to choose your preferred lawyer. You need to be aware that most lenders operate an approved list of lawyers you are obliged to use for the mortgage aspect of your conveyancing.
I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Barking. Before diving in I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.
If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Barking - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in Barking. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the sum to be paid.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Barking flat is 240 Strone Road in January 2014. the tribunal held that the price to be paid for the freehold interest was£23,538 of which£13,017 is attributable to the ground floor flat and £10,521 to the first floor flat. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 65.5 years.