My husband and I are purchasing a 3 bedroom flat in Brondesbury with a mortgage. We have a Brondesbury lawyer, however the lender says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel conveyancing practices or retain our Brondesbury lawyer and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. This feels very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you 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 Brondesbury conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My conveyancer has identified a defect with the lease for the flat we are purchasing in Brondesbury. The seller’s lawyers have suggested title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our lawyer has advised that he must check that the mortgage company is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the lender?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the lender are the client. Your property lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the mortgage company can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
Is it necessary to take out insurance to protect me from financial exposure to chancel repairs when acquiring a residence in Brondesbury?
Unless a prior purchase of the property completed after 12 October 2013 you can expect solicitors conducting conveyancing in Brondesbury to remain encouraging a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.
What makes your site different to alternative web based conveyancing brokers for conveyancing in Brondesbury?
At this site secure a fixed fee quote from a Solicitor or Licensed Conveyancer that understands the nuances for your conveyancing in Brondesbury. Unlike many estate agents and brokerage sites we do not operate commission arrangements with solicitors. A large number of agents and online brokers 'recommend' solicitors who pay the most kickback, as opposed to the best value conveyancing in Brondesbury
My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Brondesbury. Conveyancing and Godiva Mortgages Ltd mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Brondesbury who previously acted has long since retired. Do I pay?
First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Brondesbury conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
Following months of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Brondesbury. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
if there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the amount due.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Brondesbury residence is 50a Cavendish Road in April 2014. The Tribunal determines that the premium payable by the Applicant in respect of the extension of the lease for the flat was £82,319. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 49.26 years.
My husband and I are buying a ground floor flat in Brondesbury. When we first instructed conveyancer, they said that they were on all mainstream mortgage company panels. The mortgage broker called just now to advise that they are not on the Virgin Money approved list. If it turns out to be true, what should we do? Do we simply find a different solicitor that is on their approved list or should we cover the costs for separate representation, with Virgin Money appointing their own approved lawyer.
Where you are acquiring a property requiring a mortgage it is standard for the purchaser’s solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a property lawyer has to be on that lender's list of approved lawyers. An application has to be made by the conveyancer to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict conditions which the conveyancing practitioner has to fulfill. Some lenders now insist their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact Virgin Money to find out 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on Virgin Money's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Brondesbury solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.