I am nearing exchange of contracts for my house in Barlaston and the EA has just called to say that the purchasers are swapping conveyancer. The excuse is that the bank will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading lender only engage with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Barlaston ?
Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in recent years big names such as Nationwide, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for many years.
Lenders blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to reveal 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. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Barclays. I assume I don't need a Barlaston property lawyer on the Barclays panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Barclays mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Barclays mortgage from the register. Barclays, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Barclays has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Barclays has instructed the Land Registry to do so
It is unclear whether my bank requires a lease extension. I have called my Barlaston building society branch on various occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they would lend. My Barlaston conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- called to say that they refuse to lend based on their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. Who do I believe?
Provided that the property lawyer is on the mortgage company panel, she or he must adhere to the CML Handbook provisions for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the lender will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Barlaston. My mortgage broker suggested a lawyer. I paid an on account payment of £175. A few days later, the solicitor called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Skipton conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Skipton panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
Do I need to pay for insurance to address the risk of chancel repairs when purchasing a house in Barlaston?
Unless a prior acquisition of the property took place post 12 October 2013 you can expect conveyancing practitioners delivering conveyancing in Barlaston to continue to propose a a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
How does conveyancing in Barlaston differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Barlaston come to us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is completed. This is because house builders in Barlaston tend to purchase the real estate, 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 property lawyers 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 Barlaston or who has acted in the same development.
I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have since discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Barlaston. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?
The majority of houses in Barlaston are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Barlaston in which case you should be shopping around for a Barlaston conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.
I own a studio flat in Barlaston, conveyancing formalities finalised May 2002. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar properties in Barlaston with an extended lease are worth £202,000. The ground rent is £60 invoiced annually. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2083
You have 57 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £28,500 and £33,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.
What can I do to find out who owns a house in Barlaston?
As long as the premises is registered with the Land Registry, and you have requisite specifics of the address of the property, you should be able to obtain details from the HMLR of the recorded proprietor for a for less than a fiver.