Much to our surprise we have been advised by our lender that my Clayton-le-Moors property lawyer is not on the mortgage company Solicitor panel. What can I do to be certain that this is indeed the case?
You need to call your Clayton-le-Moors conveyancer. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to advise you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the approved list of lawyers for your lender.
My husband and I are buying a newbuild flat in Clayton-le-Moors with a mortgage from Skipton Building Society.We would like to retain our Clayton-le-Moors conveyancing lawyer but Skipton Building Society advised that his firm is not listed on their approved list of firms. we are left little option but to use a Skipton Building Society panel firm or retain our high street solicitor and fork out for a Skipton Building Society panel lawyer to act for them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that Skipton Building Society use our lawyer?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its various provisions, one of which will be that solicitors must be on the Skipton Building Society solicitor panel. Until recently, most mortgage companies had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could find 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 lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Skipton Building Society
We are buying a end of terrace house in Clayton-le-Moors. Our aim is to convert the garage to a playroom at the property.Will legal investigations on the property include investigations to see if these alterations were previously refused?
Your solicitor will review the deeds as conveyancing in Clayton-le-Moors will occasionally identify restrictions in the title documents which restrict certain works or necessitated the permission of a 3rd party. Many extensions require local authority planning consent and approval under the building regulations. Certain locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or affect extensions. You should check these things with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.
Is it the case that all Clayton-le-Moors CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the HSBC conveyancing panel?
It is true that some lenders now make use of the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to remain on their approved list of firms.
I have paid off my mortgage with TSB. I assume I don't need a Clayton-le-Moors conveyancing practitioner on the TSB panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your TSB mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the TSB mortgage from the register. TSB, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where TSB has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- TSB has instructed the Land Registry to do so
My wife and I have a semi-detached Victorian house in Clayton-le-Moors. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Barnsley Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same property. Is it worth asking Barnsley Building Society to clarify?
You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Clayton-le-Moors and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also enquire as to the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.
Taking into account that I will soon spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on 3 bedroom house in Clayton-le-Moors I wish to talk to a solicitor about mytransaction ahead of giving the go ahead to the firm. Can this be arranged?
Absolutely - we would be happy to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you first talking to the conveyancer who will be conducting your conveyancing in Clayton-le-Moors.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is unique person, not a case reference. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are quoted for residential conveyancing in Clayton-le-Moors should be the figure that you end up paying.
I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in Clayton-le-Moors. Conveyancing is yet to be initiated, however I have recently had a half-yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?
It best that you pay the invoice as you normally would as all rents and maintenance charges should be allotted as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.
I acquired a studio flat in Clayton-le-Moors, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Clayton-le-Moors with a long lease are worth £265,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease runs out on 21st October 2101
With just 76 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £8,600 and £9,800 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 cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.