My wife and I are purchasing a 2 bedroom apartment in Buckingham with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Buckingham solicitor, however the lender says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel solicitors or continue with our Buckingham lawyer and pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. We regard this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. 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 Buckingham conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
We are about to sign contracts for a ground floor flat in Buckingham. We have hit a snag. Our loan offer with TSB expires on 18/9/2025 but the vendors are putting forward a completion date of 22/9/2025. Is it possible to prolong the mortgage offer?
The person best placed to address this issue is your conveyancer who will assess whether they should be discussing with the mortgage broker, owner’s conveyancers, selling agents or possibly all parties taking into account the circumstances your conveyancing to date.
I have been told that property searches are a common reason for hinderance in Buckingham house deals. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the determinations of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the common causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are unlikely to feature in any holding up conveyancing in Buckingham.
I am buying a new build house in Buckingham with a loan from Lloyds TSB Bank. The builders would not budge the price so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The property agent advised me not to tell my conveyancer about this deal as it would affect my mortgage with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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 am looking for a ground for flat up to £305k and found one round the corner in Buckingham I like with open areas and transport links nearby, the downside is that it only has 61 years on the lease. There is not much else in Buckingham suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
Should you need a mortgage that many years will likely be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.
I dont have enough spare money to pay a 10% deposit on my apartment purchase in Buckingham , but I am keen exchange. Do I have options?
One option is to try and agree a smaller deposit. Many sellers will agree to a lesser deposit or even no deposit for a first time buyer or 100% mortgage. Be aware though that if you fail to complete you will still need to hand over a minimum of 10% of the purchase price regardless of how much deposit was agreed.
You can also agree a simultaneous exchange and completion as no deposit is required for this however neither party will be tied in until completion actually takes place and it can be risky if sellers change their mind at the last moment