My partner and I are buying a brand new apartment in Cumberland and my conveyancer is telling me that she is duty bound to the lender to reveal incentives from the developer. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange and I would rather not prolong deal. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancer. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The UK Finance Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
The Cumberland conveyancing firm that I recently instructed on my house acquisition in Cumberland have suddenly shut down. I chose them because I needed a firm on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel and my previous Cumberland lawyer was not. I sent them a cheque for two hundred pounds in advance. What do I do now?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers should be in a position to assist.
My uncle pointed out to me me that in buying a property in Cumberland there may be various restrictions preventing external alterations to the property. Is this right?
We are aware of a number of properties in Cumberland which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to execute external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Cumberland should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
It is unclear whether my bank requires a lease extension. I have called my Cumberland bank branch on numerous occasions and was told it does not affect the mortgage offer and they will lend. My Cumberland conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- telephoned to say that they will not lend in accordance with their published requirements. I simply don't know who is right.
Provided that the solicitor is on the lender panel, she or he must follow the CML Handbook requirements for the bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company 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 mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
I am selling my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in May 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, RBS are being problematic. The Cumberland solicitor who is on the RBS conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but RBS are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do RBS have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that RBS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why RBS 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'm purchasing my first flat in Cumberland with a mortgage from Barnsley Building Society. The builders refused to move on the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative advised me not to tell my solicitor about this deal as it could impact my loan with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the UK Finance website. UK Finance 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'm refinancing my current property to a BTL mortgage with National Westminster Bank and I will use the rest of the raised equity towards another property. The area we are looking at is Cumberland. Will your solicitors be able to act for the two banks and tie in the two deals?
Make use of our search tool on this page to be sure that the solicitors are approved by both banks. Having checked that they are the conveyancer will be able to tie up the two conveyancing matters but you should have a chat with you lawyer and communicate your expectations and requirements.
How easy is it to change a solicitor as I need to find a Cumberland based one who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel. Is it practical to instruct different lawyers?
In the event that you have not formally appointed a conveyancer to do anything for you and at this stage simply received an estimate as to costs, you're perfectly free to choose a different solicitor to carry out your work for you. The best way is to get recommendations from friends or family who have actually used the solicitor or conveyancer in Cumberland that you're thinking of instructing.