I am selling my apartment in Bromborough and the estate agent has just telephoned to advise that the purchasers are swapping solicitor. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a big named lender only deal with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Bromborough ?
Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms they are content to work with, but in recent years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for many years.
Banks blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. 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. Plenty of firms 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 buyers are not going to have any impact on this.
The Bromborough conveyancing firm handling our Bromborough conveyancing has spotted a difference between the assumptions in the valuation report and what is revealed within the legal papers for the property. My solicitor has advised that he is duty bound to check that the bank is happy with this discrepancy and is content to go ahead. Is my lawyer’s stance right?
Your solicitor must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for both parties.
Why do I have to pay up front for conveyancing in Bromborough?
If you are buying a property in Bromborough your lawyer will ask you place them with funds to cover the search fees. This will be the total of the cost of the Local Authority Search. When the down payment is payable against the purchase price then this will be required immediately before exchange of contracts. Any further balance that is needed should be transferred a few days ahead of the day of completion.
I am assisting my sister sell her house in Bromborough. Does the conveyancer commission the energy performance certificate or it is for me to coordinate?
Following the demise of Home Packs, energy performance certificates was retained a compulsory element of moving house. An energy performance certificate must be commissioned in advance of the property being put on the market. It is not as aspect of the sale process that conveyancers normally arrange. If you are instructing a Bromborough conveyancing practitioner they may help arrange energy assessments given their contacts with long established Bromborough accredited person
We previously chose conveyancing lawyers with offices in Bromborough on the Coventry BS solicitor panel. They have just invoiced me an additional fee for handling the Coventry BS mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Coventry BS?
Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your conveyancing practitioner may levy a fee for this. This fee is not set by Coventry BS but by your Bromborough property lawyer. Plenty of firms on the Coventry BS panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
I have paid off my mortgage with Co-operative. I assume I don't need a Bromborough conveyancer on the Co-operative panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Co-operative mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Co-operative mortgage from the register. Co-operative, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Co-operative has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Co-operative has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I have been told that property searches are the primary cause of obstruction in Bromborough conveyancing transactions. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published conclusions of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the most frequent causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Local searches are unlikely to feature in any holding up conveyancing in Bromborough.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and identified one round the corner in Bromborough I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 61 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Bromborough for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
If you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you may ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.