My fiance and I are planning to purchase a property in Bromyard and have instructed a Bromyard conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Yorkshire Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Bromyard conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Bromyard solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
My wife and I are only a couple days away from an exchange on a house in Bromyard and my parents have transferred the exchange deposit to my property lawyer. I am now advised that as the deposit has not arrived from me my property lawyer needs to disclose this to my lender. I am advised that, in also acting for the bank he must inform them that the balance of the purchase price is coming from anyone other than me. I disclosed to the lender about my parents' contribution when I applied for the home loan, so is it really necessary for this now to delay the deal?
The solicitor is obliged to clarify with mortgage company to make sure that they are aware that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own resources. The solicitor can only report this to your mortgage company if you permit them to, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
I am the registered owner of a freehold house in Bromyard but still invoiced for rent, why is this and what is this?
It is rare for properties in Bromyard and has limited impact for conveyancing in Bromyard but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges have existed for hundreds of years, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the establishment of new rentcharges post 1977.
Previous rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 will be extinguished.
Are all Bromyard Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Skipton conveyancing panel?
A selection of lenders now use the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to join their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
is it true that all Bromyard conveyancing solicitors on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel are overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the SRA. The majority of banks do list licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be governed by the CLC.
Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Bromyard. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How do I make a complaint?
Most banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Team at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.
I'm buying my first flat in Bromyard with the aid of help to buy. The sellers refused to move on the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative suggested that I not inform my lawyer about this side-deal as it could put at risk 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 own a leasehold flat in Bromyard. Conveyancing was completed in 2010. I have been told that I mustn’t allow the lease length get too short. Why is that a problem?
Bromyard domestic long term leases are for a set term - normally ninety nine years when they started. However many appartments in Bromyard were built or converted 30 or more years ago and so such leases now have under eighty years left to run. This may sound like plenty of time but Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage lenders generally need leases to have a minimum of seventy five years unexpired to be mortgageable. Accordingly when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are getting close to 75 years. To increase your property value you should be considering whether or not to extend your lease long before you come to sell it. There are also advantages to taking action before the lease reaches even eighty years as when the lease falls below 80 years the premium to be paid to extend starts to increase.