We are planning to purchase a 1 bedroom flat in Batheaston with a mortgage. We have a Batheaston solicitor, but the lender says she’s not on their "panel". It appears that we have no choice but to use one of the mortgage company panel conveyancing practices or retain our Batheaston lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to represent them. We consider that this is unjust; are we not able to demand that the lender use our Batheaston property lawyer ?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’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 Batheaston conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
I had intended to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Batheaston for our home move. Our financial adviser has since notified us that our mortgage lenders Chelsea Building Society won't deal with them. Surely this is unduly restrictive?
Lenders ordinarily imposes restrictions either the category or the number of conveyancing practices on their approved list of lawyers. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the profile of firm, some have reduced the amount of solicitor practices they permit to represent them. Be aware that Chelsea Building Society have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Chelsea Building Society Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the reduction of conveyancing panels since 2008 even though there are mixed opinions regarding the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Data from the Land Registry indicate that plenty of law firms, including some in or near Batheaston only carry out one or two conveyances per annum.
A friend advised me that in buying a property in Batheaston there could be various restrictions prohibiting external changes to the property. Is this right?
There are anumerous of properties in Batheaston which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to execute external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Batheaston should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Batheaston lawyer having checked that they are on the Barclays conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Barclays will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Barclays will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your solicitor will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Batheaston postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Barclays, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Batheaston.
Our offer on a semi in Batheaston has been accepted, the sellers do however have an associated purchase. The vendors have put an offer on a property, but it’s not yet tied up, and have viewings of other properties booked. I have chosen a local conveyancing solicitor in Batheaston. What do I do now? At what stage do I apply for the mortgage with Yorkshire BS?
It is usual to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses prematurely (home loan application is approx £1k, then valuation, Batheaston conveyancing search fees, etc). The first course of action is to ensure that your lawyer is on the Yorkshire BS approved list. As to the subsequent phase this very much dictated by the specifics of your transaction, motivation for the property and on the state of the market. During a hot market the majority of buyers would apply for the mortgage with Yorkshire BS and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they ask their property lawyer to press on with searches.
I have a 4 bedroom Edwardian property in Batheaston. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Britannia. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Batheaston and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also question the position with the conveyancing lawyer who carried out the work.
I'm buying my first flat in Batheaston with a loan from Skipton Building Society. The developers would not reduce the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent suggested that I not reveal to my lawyer about this deal as it could adversely affect my mortgage with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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.
Our conveyancing solicitor in Batheaston is asking me for personal identification documents stating that this is part of his obligations as a solicitor on the mortgage company Conveyancing panel. Am I being spun a yarn?
Due to Money Laundering Regulations your conveyancing lawyer is duty bound to confirm positively your identification when entering into a business relationship with you. It is a criminal offence if your lawyer not do this. If you do not provide ID early in the transaction the solicitor must refuse to act for you. It’s unlikely a lawyer will turn you away if you come to the first meeting without relevant ID but you will have to produce it at some point so you might as well bring it with you to the initial meeting so the lawyer can tick the ID verification box and start sorting out the conveyancing straight away. If you are getting a mortgage, your lawyer also has to check ID documents to satisfy the bank. This is not specific to conveyancing in Batheaston