My husband and I are purchasing a 2 bedroom flat in County Durham with a mortgage. We have a County Durham conveyancer, however the bank advise she’s not on their "panel". It appears that we have little choice but to select one of the mortgage company panel conveyancing practices or retain our County Durham lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. We feel that this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer 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 County Durham conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
What happens if my lawyer’s firm is suspended from the TSB Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in County Durham?
First, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.
We are purchasing a 3 bedroom semi in County Durham. Our aim is to an extension at the rear at the property.Will the conveyancing process involve checks to ascertain if these works are prohibited?
Your property lawyer should check the registered title as conveyancing in County Durham can occasionally identify restrictions in the title deeds which prohibit categories of alterations or require the consent of a 3rd party. Many additions need local authority planning permissions and approval under the building regulations. Certain locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which frequently prevent or impact extensions. It would be wise to check these issues with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.
We had instructed conveyancing lawyers with offices in County Durham on the Lloyds solicitor panel. They are now charging me a further charge for handling the Lloyds mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Lloyds?
Unfortunately, so long as it is in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your conveyancer can charge a fee for this. The fee is not set by Lloyds but by your County Durham conveyancing practitioner. Numerous firms on the Lloyds panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
My wife and I have organised a further advance on our mortgage from TSB as we intend to carry out a loft conversion to our property in County Durham. Are we obliged to choose a nearby County Durham solicitor on the TSB conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
TSB would not normally require 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 TSB panel.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in County Durham before appointing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. My surveyor has said that some mortgage companies may refuse to give a mortgage on a flying freehold house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different requirements from Birmingham Midshires. If you contact us we can check via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in County Durham. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in County Durham to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
All being well we will complete the disposal of our £175,000 flat in County Durham next week. The managing agents has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in County Durham?
County Durham conveyancing on leasehold flats often necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They may charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.
County Durham Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to buying
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Plenty County Durham leasehold flats will have a service bill for the upkeep of the building set by the management company. Should you buy the flat you will have to meet this charge, normally in instalments during the year. This may be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common areas. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay annual, this is usually not a large amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to enquire as occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds. Who takes charge for maintaining and repairing the block?
I require the services of a mortgage company panel solicitor in County Durham. Could you help me?
It is not clear why you need a County Durham panel solicitor but in any event, if you can not find one on our search tool you will need to speak directly to the lender to find out which solicitors in County Durham are on their panel . If you do find such a firm in County Durham not listed please direct them to our site to list. After all the cost is only one £1 a month