My partner and I are planning to buy a flat in Benfleet and are in fact using a Benfleet conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Clydesdale have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Benfleet conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for 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 Quality 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 lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Benfleet solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
I have a mortgage with HSBC for my property in Benfleet. Conveyancing was finalised months ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform HSBC?
Your original mortgage agreement with HSBC will provide that you need their approval before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of HSBC’s mortgage conditions. It may be that HSBC will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact HSBC directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a HSBC conveyancing panel firm.
Completion of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Benfleet. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How do I make a complaint?
Almost all lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are sorted out very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR who will take matters further.
I can not work out if my bank obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called my Benfleet bank branch on numerous occasions and was told it does not impact the mortgage offer and they will lend. My Benfleet conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- called and was told they refuse to lend based on their specific requirements. I simply don't know who is right.
As long as the conveyancing practitioner is on the mortgage company panel, they must comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook requirements for the bank. 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.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in last month in what should have been a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Benfleet is where the house is located. What do you suggest?
Flying freeholds in Benfleet are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Benfleet you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Benfleet may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
What tools are available to identify a Benfleet law firm on the Barnsley Building Society conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel upto 10kilometers to meet the solicitor.
You can use the tool on this page. Please choose the mortgage company and your location and you will see a number of Benfleet conveyancing lawyers locally. We have detailed some Benfleet conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can telephone them to see if they are on the Barnsley Building Society panel
I've recently bought a leasehold house in Benfleet. Do I have any liability for 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 owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, 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).
I purchased a basement flat in Benfleet, conveyancing having been completed December 2010. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar flats in Benfleet with a long lease are worth £201,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2090
With just 65 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £13,300 and £15,400 plus professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.
My wife and I have recently had an offer agreed on a property and had meeting on Wednesday with the Post Office for the mortgage. They warned me that when it comes to selecting a property lawyer that unless they are on their approved list of lawyers then we will incur a further fee of £200. This is is due to the fact that they will then have to select a conveyancer to act on their behalf as well as the one we appoint on our behalf and we assume responsibility for their costs. I have asked the Post Office to supply me with a list so I can request quotes only from their approved solicitors but was told that I need to check with each individual solicitor to see if they are on the panel. Is there a list online?
You should ask the Post Office what their panel criteria is for a solicitor.Thereafter ask the solicitor of your choice whether they meet the criteria and have they acted on mortgages for the Post Office in the past. If the answer to those is yes, then just clarify this with the Post Office. Alternatively please use our search facility and we may be able to find you a property lawyer in Benfleet on the panel for the Post Office.