I am in the process of selling my house in Bestwood and the estate agent has just text me to advise that the purchasers are swapping conveyancer. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major mortgage company only work with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Bestwood ?
Banks have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.
Mortgage companies blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is hearing daily from firms 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. Your purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.
Can the conveyancing lawyers that you recommend execute auction conveyancing in Bestwood?
We know of a few auction lawyers we can put you in touch with those who can conduct auction conveyancing. Bestwood is one of our areas of in which our lawyers cover.
My grandfather passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Bestwood. The house had a relatively small loan remaining of approximately £5k. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Bank of Ireland, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?
Given you plan to re-mortgage then Bank of Ireland will require that you use a conveyancer on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Bank of Ireland mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £235,500 and identified one close by in Bestwood I like with a park and railway links nearby, however it only has 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Bestwood in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be problematic. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the property for at least 2 years you may request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
I am four weeks into a residential purchase having been recommend to solicitors by the selling agent to do our conveyancing in Bestwood. I am am very disappointed with the quality of service. Could you you assist me in finding new lawyers?
A solicitor would have to be really poor to suggest changing them. Has the mortgage been issued? In the event that it has you will need to make them aware of the new contact details and ensure the offer are re-issued. The solicitor ideally needs to be on the lenders panel to avoid added expenses and frustration. So that should be your first question of the new lawyers. The search tool can assist you in finding a bank approved conveyancer for your home move in Bestwood
I've recently bought a leasehold house in Bestwood. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?
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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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 own a split level flat in Bestwood, conveyancing was carried out March 2005. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Bestwood with an extended lease are worth £185,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2084
You have 60 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £20,000 and £23,000 plus legals.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.