My fiance and I are planning to acquire a flat in Belton and have instructed a Belton conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Coventry Building Society have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Belton conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Belton solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
I am selling my flat in Belton. Will the lawyer have to be on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their panel criteria fairly frequently currently.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £305k and found one round the corner in Belton I like with a park and railway links nearby, however it's only got 49 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Belton in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?
If you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be an issue. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you can ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this.
How do I use the search app to get a costs illustration from a conveyancing lawyer in Belton on the approved list for my mortgage?
1st pick a mortgage company such as Nationwide Building Society, Virgin Money or Nottingham Building Society then type in your location such as Belton. Conveyancing practices in Belton and nationally will then be identified.
I need to find a conveyancing solicitor for some conveyancing in Belton. I happened to discover a web site which looks to be the perfect answer If there is a chance to get all formalities done via email that would be preferable. Do I need to be concerned? What are the potential pitfalls?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
Is there a reason that Belton conveyancing costs are higher for leasehold and freehold properties?
Inevitably there is more work involved for leasehold conveyancing. Belton has many leasehold properties. There is more time involved in the purchase: for example, the lease and leasehold information (including up to date service charge, ground rent and buildings insurance details) obtained from the freeholder or managing agents. There are strict criteria that the lease must meet in order to be acceptable to a mortgage company. If it does not meet these requirements, the lease must be amended, which can involve additional expense for the seller.