I am selling my house in Crouch End. Will my lawyer need to be on the Santander conveyancing panel in order to deal with the discharge of my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Santander conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their conditions fairly frequently at the moment.
I currently have a mortgage with Nationwide for my property in Crouch End. Conveyancing was finalised 12 months ago. Should I wish to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Nationwide?
Nationwide must be informed of your intention before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Nationwide’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 Nationwide directly. You need not do this via a Nationwide conveyancing panel solicitor.
I can not work out if my bank requires a lease extension. I have called my Crouch End bank branch on various occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they would lend. My Crouch End conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they refuse to lend in accordance with their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. Who do I believe?
The conveyancer must comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook section two conditions for your lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
I am selling my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in October 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, Co-operative are being pedantic. The Crouch End solicitor who is on the Co-operative conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Co-operative are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Co-operative have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Co-operative have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Co-operative 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.
A friend suggested that if I am buying in Crouch End I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard Crouch End conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Crouch End around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Crouch End Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Crouch End Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning Crouch End.
I was advised by a number of property agents in Crouch End to select a conveyancer on your site. What’s the financial incentive for Estate Agents to promote your services ahead of a competitor’s?
We don’t make any referral fee for sending work to this site. We found it would be just too difficult to pay a commission as members of the public would think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.
My husband and I are FTB’s - had an offer accepted, yet the agent has warned us that the vendor will only move forward if we instruct the agent's chosen conveyancers as they want an ‘expedited deal’. We would rather use a local solicitor used to conveyancing in Crouch End
It is unlikely the vendors are behind this. If they desire ‘a quick sale', turning down a serious buyer is going to damage their objectives. Speak to the vendors direct and make sure they comprehend that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are excited to move forward, with finances arranged © you are chain free (d) you wish to move quickly (e)however you intend to instruct your own,trusted Crouch End conveyancing solicitors - rather thanthose that will give the estate agent a commission or hit his conveyancing targets set by corporate headquarters.
Your search tool is useful but there are many lawyers listed near Crouch End being on the lender conveyancing panel. It would be a lot more helpful if you could recommend a specific firm on the bank approved panel?
We are not in the business of recommending one firm above another as the right Crouch End conveyancing solicitor for you depends on where your priorities lie. For example you may require a local firm with Crouch End knowledge or you might be looking for the low cost conveyancing. We recommend that you speak to 3 or 4 lawyers listed before you make your choice..