I am progressing with the sale of my home in Blackley and the estate agent has just telephoned to warn that the buyers are switching property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only work with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a big named mortgage company only work with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Blackley ?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for decades.
Mortgage companies blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.
I am buying a house and require a conveyancing solicitor in Blackley who is on the Godiva Mortgages Ltd approved. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a firm?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Godiva Mortgages Ltd in certain locations such as Blackley. We dont recommend any particular firm.
Does a directory service exist listing Santander panel solicitors in Blackley on the Building Society Association’s Website?
Unfortunately not yet. There is no such directory service on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. A small selection of banks make their panel listings visible on the web. If you are in need of a Blackley conveyancing practitioner on the Santander please use our tool.
I was told three weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Nationwide. Is it usual for Nationwide to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Blackley is approved on their conveyancing panel? Nationwide have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their Professional Indemnity Insurance Schedule.
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Nationwide to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
After what seems like an age I have had an offer on a maisonette in Blackley accepted, the owners do nevertheless have a dependent purchase. The vendors have offered on a property, however it’s not yet tied up, and have viewings of other properties in the pipeline. I have instructed a high street conveyancing solicitor in Blackley. What do I do now? At what point do I apply for the mortgage with Barclays?
It is usual to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs too early (home loan application is in the region of £1k, then survey, Blackley conveyancing search charges, etc). The first course of action is to check that your conveyancing practitioner is on the Barclays approved list. As to the next phase this very much depends on the uniqueness of your transaction, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. During a hot market some buyers will apply for the mortgage with Barclays and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they pay their solicitor to move forward with searches.
I used Action Conveyancing a few years past for my conveyancing in Blackley. I now require my file however the law firm has closed. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Blackley of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Blackley both have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?
There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Blackley is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Blackley conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.
I purchased a garden flat in Blackley, conveyancing was carried out April 2000. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Blackley with an extended lease are worth £211,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2092
With 67 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.
We are midway through purchasing a house in Blackley. Conveyancing lawyer has called to say the title is "Leasehold". Will this likely make a difference on the marketability of the property?
Blackley conveyancing does not in most situations involve leasehold houses. The main factor here is the length of lease and the ground rent. If it's 999 years with a nominal rent, it's almost the same as freehold, so it’s unlikely to impact the saleability significantly.
At the other end of the spectrum, if it's, say, Sixty years it is bound to have a material impact on the value, and most likely wouldn't be mortgageable. The remaining lease term and ground rent will be set out in the lease provided to your conveyancer.