My wife and I are looking to acquire a home in Byker and Walker and are in fact using a Byker and Walker conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Lloyds TSB Bank have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Byker and Walker conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for 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 solicitor should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Byker and Walker lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
We are looking to buy a flat and need a conveyancing solicitor in Byker and Walker who is on the RBS solicitor panel. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a conveyancing firm?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for RBS . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in Byker and Walker.
My friend advised me that if I am buying in Byker and Walker I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is occasionally included in the estimate for your Byker and Walker conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Byker and Walker around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Byker and Walker.
Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Byker and Walker ahead of retaining solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. The surveyor advised that some lenders will refuse to grant a mortgage on this type of property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements for example to Nationwide. If you call us we can look into this further via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Byker and Walker. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Byker and Walker especially if they regularly deal with such properties in Byker and Walker.
Is it possible to switch conveyancer as I have to find a firm on the Accord Mortgages Ltd conveyancing list. I instructed a high street conveyancing solicitor in Byker and Walker round the corner but the firm is not accepted by Accord Mortgages Ltd
It would be our pleasure to help you select a conveyancing solicitor in Byker and Walker on the Accord Mortgages Ltd panel. Please note that the conveyancers that we list do not pay us fee if you instruct them and are under regulation of the SRA who oversee all conveyancing solicitors in Byker and Walker. In utilising search facility on this website, you can contrast costs for conveyancing solicitors in Byker and Walker and beyond.
Last September I purchased a leasehold flat in Byker and Walker. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
Byker and Walker Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying
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Make sure you find out if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For example it is very common in Byker and Walker leases that pets are not permitted in certain buildings in Byker and Walker. If you like the flatin Byker and Walker however your cat can’t move with you then you have a very hard choice. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Most Byker and Walker leasehold apartments will have a service charge for maintenance of the building invoiced by the management company. Where you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this amount, usually in instalments during the year. This can differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, this is usually not a significant sum, say about £50-£100 but you need to enquire as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds.