Me and my fiance are buying a 1 bedroom flat in Chathill with a mortgage. We like our Chathill solicitor, however the mortgage company advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel firms or keep our Chathill lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. This seems very unfair; 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 lender’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 Chathill conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
In the event thatI were to purchase a straightforward housein Chathill for cash and have no survey and no local authority searches how much should I expect to have to pay for conveyancing in Chathill?
Any savings you would gain would be isolated to the Chathill conveyancing searches. Your conveyancer still be obliged to do everything else - money laundering, communicating with the vendors conveyancing practitioner, stamp duty submission, register the property etc. You might save a bit for them not having to register a mortgage but it will not be a lot.
My uncle passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Chathill. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £4500. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Kent Reliance, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?
If you plan to refinance then Kent Reliance will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Kent Reliance conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Kent Reliance mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
A friend informed me that in buying a property in Chathill there could be various restrictions preventing external alterations to a property. Is this right?
There are a number of properties in Chathill which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Chathill should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
We previously appointed conveyancing lawyers with offices in Chathill on the Virgin Money solicitor panel. They are now charging me an additional amount for dealing with the Virgin Money mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Virgin Money?
Unfortunately, so long as it is in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your solicitor can levy a fee for this. This charge is not dictated by Virgin Money but by your Chathill conveyancer. Some firms on the Virgin Money panel will levy ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but plenty of firms incorporate it on their overall fee.
The mortgage over my property is with UBS for my property in Chathill. Conveyancing has been completed some time 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 UBS?
You must advise UBS before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of UBS’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 UBS directly. You need not do this via a UBS conveyancing panel solicitor.
I am buying a new build house in Chathill with a loan from The Mortgage Works. The sellers refused to budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep advised me not disclose to my lawyer about the side-deal as it could adversely affect my mortgage with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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.
What does commercial conveyancing in Chathill cover?
Chathill conveyancing for business premises covers a wide array of advice, given by qualified solicitors, relating to business property. By way of example, this area of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more usually, the transfer of existing business tenancies or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial loans and the termination of tenancies.