My fiance and I are planning to buy a house in Cardiff Bay and are in fact using a Cardiff Bay conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Coventry Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Cardiff Bay solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. 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 lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Cardiff Bay lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
I sincerely hope you can assist me. My Cardiff Bay lawyer is informing me me that he has toapply for Cardiff Bay conveyancing searches asthe firm are on the Virgin Moneyapproved lawyer panel. These Cardiff Bay checks cost a lot of money can this be avoided?
Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. As you are obtaining a mortgage with a bank your solicitor has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your conveyancing practitioner would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your lender’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook conditions . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Cardiff Bay conveyancing searches.
I'm at the point of looking at houses in Cardiff Bay and I am about to put in an offer. Is it premature to have a solicitor in place? I am planning to take a home loan with Barclays.
It would be wise to commence your search sooner rather than later. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the selling agent. Given that you are taking out a mortgage with Barclays, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Barclays conveyancing panel.
Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Cardiff Bay. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
All banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Department at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are resolved effectively and efficiently. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.
Having read lots of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Cardiff Bay solicitor - who is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Virgin Money will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Virgin Money will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Cardiff Bay surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
Will commercial conveyancing searches reveal impending roadworks that may affect a commercial premises in Cardiff Bay?
Many commercial conveyancing solicitors in Cardiff Bay will perform a SiteSolutions Highways report as it dramatically cuts the time that conveyancers invest in investigating accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Cardiff Bay. The report provides definitive data on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Cardiff Bay.
For each commercial conveyancing transaction in Cardiff Bay it is critical to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been addressed adequately can result in delays to Cardiff Bay commercial conveyancing deals as well as present a risk to future plans for the site. These searches are not ordered for domestic conveyancing in Cardiff Bay.
I have recentlydiscovered that Wolstenholmes have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in Cardiff Bay for a purchase of a freehold house 10 months ago. How can I establish that my home is not still registered in the name of the former proprietor?
The quickest way to see if the property 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 Cardiff Bay conveyancing specialists.
Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Cardiff Bay with the aim of saving time on the sale process?
- Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Cardiff Bay can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives. Some Cardiff Bay leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors. If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Cardiff Bay leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first. If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
I own a split level flat in Cardiff Bay, conveyancing formalities finalised 3 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable properties in Cardiff Bay with a long lease are worth £201,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2089
You have 64 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £14,300 and £16,400 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.