Me and my partner are planning to acquire a 3 bedroom apartment in Borth Y Gest with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Borth Y Gest solicitor, however the mortgage company advise he's not on their "panel". It appears that we have little option but to use one of the mortgage company panel conveyancing practices or continue with our Borth Y Gest solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. This feels very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’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. A further alternative is for your Borth Y Gest conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
I am considering applying for a Clydesdale mortgage for purchase of a new build (under development) in Borth Y Gest with 70% loan to value. Is it compulsory to choose a solicitor on the conveyancing panel for Clydesdale ?
In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel, but Clydesdale would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same conveyancing matter.
We are purchasing a terrace house in Borth Y Gest. The intention is to convert the garage to an office at the house.Will the conveyancing process include checks to ascertain if these alterations are permitted?
Your property lawyer should review the deeds as conveyancing in Borth Y Gest will occasionally reveal restrictions in the title deeds which prevent categories of changes or need the permission of a 3rd party. Some works call for local authority planning permissions and approval in compliance with building regulations. Certain areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or impact extensions. You should check these issues with a surveyor prior to committing yourself to a purchase.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Borth Y Gest. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender Co-operative be concerned?
Given that your lender is Co-operative your lawyer must follow the conveyancing requirements contained in Part 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Co-operative. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook contains minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and property lawyers are required to report to Co-operative where a lease does not satisfy these specifications. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not limited to Borth Y Gest.
My wife and I are in the throws of looking at houses in Borth Y Gest and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it premature to have a solicitor in place? I will be getting a mortgage with Principality.
You should start obtaining conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the EA. Given that you are getting a mortgage with Principality, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Principality conveyancing panel.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Borth Y Gest. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.
Set out below are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Borth Y Gest
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The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. The Vendor must covenant to keep unoccupied units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided.
I opted to have a survey carried out on a property in Borth Y Gest ahead of appointing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. Our surveyor has said that some lenders will refuse to give a loan on this type of house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements from Halifax. Should you wish to call us we can look into this further via the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Borth Y Gest. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Borth Y Gest to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
I own a leasehold flat in Borth Y Gest. Conveyancing was finalised in 2009. I have heard that I mustn’t allow the the remaining lease term to fall too short. Is this right?
Borth Y Gest leasehold properties are for a prescribed period - normally ninety nine years when they commenced. However many flats in Borth Y Gest were built or converted 35 or more years ago and so such leases now have under 80 years remaining. This may sound like a long time however Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage lenders generally require leases to have at least seventy five years unexpired to adequate security. This means that when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are approaching 75 years. To enhance your property value you should be thinking about whether or not to extend your lease well in advance of selling the property. There are also significant benefits to doing so before the lease hits 80 years as when the lease is below eighty years the premium you have to pay to extend starts to increase.