The Brompton conveyancing lawyers that I recently instructed on my house acquisition in Brompton have suddenly closed. They were on acting for me because I had to have a firm on the Co-operative conveyancing panel and my family Brompton lawyer was not. I paid them £170 on account. What do I do now?
If you have an estate agent involved then let them know immediately so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Co-operative conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers should be in a position to help.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am wet behind the ears as a first time purchaser of a garden flat in Brompton. Do I collect the keys to the house on completion from my lawyer? If so, I will find a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Brompton?
On the day of completion you will not be required to go to the conveyancers office in Brompton. Conveyancing lawyers for you will transfer the purchase money to the owner’s lawyers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be invited to collect the keys from the property Agents and move into your new home. Usually this occurs early afternoon.
I am purchasing a property in Brompton. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Skipton have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Skipton your lawyer must comply with the conveyancing requirements set out in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Skipton. The CML Handbook sets out minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and property lawyers are required to report to Skipton where a lease fails to comply with these provisions. The provisions relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not isolated to Brompton.
I have a mortgage with TSB for my property in Brompton. Conveyancing was finalised months ago. Should I wish to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform TSB?
Your original mortgage agreement with TSB will provide that you need their approval in advance of renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of TSB’s mortgage conditions. It may be that TSB will permit you to let 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 TSB directly. You need not do this via a TSB conveyancing panel firm.
I have recentlydiscovered that Stirling Law have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Brompton for a purchase of a freehold house 12 months ago. How can I be sure that my home is in my name in the name of the previous owner?
The quickest way to check if the premises is registered to you, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Brompton conveyancing specialists.
I'm purchasing a new build house in Brompton benefiting from help to buy. The developers would not reduce the amount so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not inform my conveyancer about this deal as it would affect my loan with Barnsley Building Society. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I opted to have a survey done on a house in Brompton in advance of retaining solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. Our surveyor has said that some banks will refuse to grant a loan on a flying freehold property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different requirements from Nationwide. Should you wish to call us we can check with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Brompton. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
I have read on various online forums that when selecting a conveyancing firm they must be approved by your lender. This is my first house move but I have an offer in principle from Virgin Money and I already have a local conveyancing lawyer in Brompton at the ready. Will Halifax insist on an approved lawyer to be instructed? If so, where can I find that list so I can choose a conveyancing lawyer in Brompton?
You should choose a solicitor that is on the Halifax panel. Simply call your preferred Brompton conveyancing lawyer to check if they are on the Halifax panel. If they are not approved you have a couple of options open to you here:
- Complete the purchase with your existing Brompton conveyancer but Halifax will undoubtedly appoint a lawyer from their approved list. This will result in additional cost together with potential interruption.
- Get a new solicitor to act in the purchase, not forgetting to check that they are on the Halifax conveyancing panel.
- Appeal to your property lawyer to attempt to join the mortgage company panel.