I am acquiring a newly built duplex in Chew Magna and my conveyancer is informing me that she has to the bank to reveal incentives from the developer. I am on a tight deadline to exchange and I would rather not delay matters. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property lawyer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
My husband and I have organised a further advance on our home loan from Bank of Ireland as we wish to carry out improvements to our house in Chew Magna. Do we need to appoint a local Chew Magna solicitor on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
Bank of Ireland would not normally appoint a member of their approved list of lawyers to deal with such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Bank of Ireland panel.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Chew Magna. One unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender TSB be concerned?
As your lender is TSB your lawyer must follow the formal instructions contained in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for TSB. The CML Handbook includes minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and solicitors are required to report to TSB where a lease fails to meet these conditions. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not isolated to Chew Magna.
I am selling my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in January 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, Lloyds are being pedantic. The Chew Magna solicitor who is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Lloyds are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Lloyds have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Lloyds have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Lloyds may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
I have been told that property searches are the number one reason for stalling in Chew Magna house deals. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published conclusions of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the common causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Searches are unlikely to feature in any delay in conveyancing in Chew Magna.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our home are lost. The lawyers who did the conveyancing in Chew Magna 10 years ago have long since closed. What are my options?
You no longer need to hold title official documentation to evidence that you own the land or premises, given that the Land Registry hold details of all registered land or property electronically.
I am purchasing a new build house in Chew Magna benefiting from help to buy. The builders refused to move on the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The property agent told me not inform my conveyancer about the deal as it could jeopardize my mortgage with Santander. Is this normal?.
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.
I am looking for a flat up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Chew Magna I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it's only got 49 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Chew Magna in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?
Should you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be an issue. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.