I am purchasing a flat in Catton. My Conveyancer is not listed on the mortgage company conveyancing list. Am I still permitted to appoint my Catton conveyancing solicitor even though they are excluded from the bank list of approved lawyers?
One will need to use a conveyancing practitioner to complete the legal work required when you take out a mortgage to buy your home. They will conduct all the appropriate legal checks on the property, make sure that you will be registered as proprietor and ensure that all the necessary mortgage paperwork is dealt with. One can select a Catton conveyancing practitioner of your choosing. Nevertheless, where the lawyer selected is not a member of the mortgage company conveyancing panel additional costs will be levied as separate legal representation will be need by the mortgage company. Conveyancing panel applications may be submitted, so if your conveyancer has not in the past sought membership they can do so.
My fiance and I intend to remortgage our penthouse in Catton with Yorkshire BS. We have a son 19 who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the flat is repossessed. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his entitlement to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Yorkshire BS. This is solely used to protect Yorkshire BS if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Yorkshire BS had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
It is a dozen years since I purchased my home in Catton. Conveyancing lawyers have just been instructed on the sale but I can't find my title documents. Is this a major issue?
You need not be too concerned. First there is a chance that the deeds will be retained by the lender or they could still be with the conveyancers who acted in the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the property will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Catton involves registered property but in the rare situation where your home is unregistered it is more problematic but is resolvable.
When it comes to lenders such as Coventry BS, do Catton property lawyers face a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are not aware of any bank fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Catton. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Lloyds have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As your lender is Lloyds your lawyer must check the formal instructions contained in Part two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Lloyds. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook stipulates minimum specifications for solar panel roof-space leases, and lawyers are required to report to Lloyds where a lease does not satisfy these provisions. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not restricted to Catton.
I currently have a mortgage with Leeds Building Society for my property in Catton. Conveyancing has been completed a year ago. Should I wish to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Leeds Building Society?
Leeds Building Society must be informed of your intention prior to renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Leeds Building Society’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Leeds Building Society directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel lawyer.
I used Action Conveyancing several years ago for my conveyancing in Catton. I now require my papers however the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Catton of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
My husband and I are FTB’s - agreed a price, but the agent has warned us that the seller will only issue a contract if we appoint the agent's preferred conveyancers as they want a ‘quick sale’. Our preferred option is to instruct a high street conveyancer accustomed to conveyancing in Catton
It is unlikely the owners are behind this. If they desire ‘a quick sale', alienating a motivated buyer is not the way to achieve this. Speak to the vendors direct and make the point that (a)you are genuine buyers (b)you are ready to go, with finances in place © you have nothing to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)however you will continue to instruct your preferred Catton conveyancing solicitors - not the ones that will provide the estate agent a introducer fee or meet his conveyancing figures demanded by head office.