I am progressing with the sale of my home in Crowland and the estate agent has just telephoned to warn that the buyers are appointing a new property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only work with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a big named lender only engage with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Crowland ?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms they are content to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for decades.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
we are a couple who wish to acquire a newbuild flat in Crowland with a homeloan from Bank of Scotland.We like our Crowland conveyancing solicitor but Bank of Scotland advised that she’s not on their approved list of firms. We have to appoint a Bank of Scotland panel lawyer or retain our local solicitor and fork out for a Bank of Scotland panel lawyer to act for them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that Bank of Scotland use our lawyer?
Unfortunately,no. The home loan offered to you contains various provisions, a common one being that lawyers must be on the Bank of Scotland solicitor panel. in the past, most mortgage companies had large numbers of solicitors 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. Another option that might be available is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Bank of Scotland
My friend advised me that where I am buying in Crowland I should ask my conveyancer to execute 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 Crowland conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out important information about Crowland around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Crowland Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Crowland Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information regarding Crowland.
I have justbecome aware that Action Conveyancing have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Crowland for a purchase of a freehold house 10 months ago. How can I check that my home is in my name in the name of the previous owner?
The quickest way to see if the property is registered to you, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Crowland conveyancing specialists.
How does conveyancing in Crowland differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Crowland approach us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is built. This is because builders in Crowland usually buy the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Crowland or who has acted in the same development.
I am employed by a long established estate agency in Crowland where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Crowland conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
I invested in buying a leasehold flat in Crowland, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding properties in Crowland with over 90 years remaining are worth £170,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2103
You have 78 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £7,600 and £8,800 as well as legals.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.