Me and my husband are buying a leasehold flat in Dorking. My property lawyer is not on the lender conveyancing list. Am I still permitted to continue with my Dorking conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the mortgage company list of approved lawyers?
You will need to appoint a lawyer to complete the legal work required when you need a mortgage to purchase your home. The solicitor will carry out all the relevant due diligence on the property, make sure that you will be properly registered as the owner and ensure that all the required mortgage documentation is dealt with. You may appoint a Dorking conveyancer of your choosing. However, if the conveyancer appointed is not on the mortgage company approved list further fees will be levied as separate legal representation will be need by the mortgage company. Lender panel applications can be submitted, so provided your conveyancer has not previously sought membership they should do so.
Finally the sale completed on my house in Dorking last November but our buyer keeps whats apping daily to say her conveyancer is waiting to hear from mine. What are the post completion sale formalities now that I have sold?
Following your disposal your conveyancer should deliver the transfer deeds and all additional paperwork to the buyer’s lawyers. If applicable, your solicitor should also confirm that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been redeemed to the purchasers conveyancers. There are no post completion procedures just for conveyancing in Dorking.
I am the single recipient of my late father’s will and I have everything in my name alone, including the house in Dorking. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in February. I plan to dispose of the property. I do know about the CML 6 month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship may be considered the same way as though I had purchased the house in February. Will no one buy the property for half a year?
The CML handbook mandates solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you could be impacted by that. Most banks would take a sensible view as this obligation is chiefly there to pick up on subsales or the flipping of properties.
Is it the case that all Dorking solicitors on the Lloyds conveyancing panel are overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Lloyds conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the SRA. Many mortgage companies do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the practice would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Dorking off the council. I have a mortgage offer with Kent Reliance. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Kent Reliance, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel.
I'm purchasing my first flat in Dorking with the aid of help to buy. The builders would not budge the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The house builders rep told me not disclose to my lawyer about the side-deal as it will impact my loan with the bank. Is this normal?.
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 CML website. CML 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 was advised by a few selling agents in Dorking to find a property lawyer on your site. What’s the financial upside for Estate Agents to offer your services ahead of a competitor’s?
We refuse to make any referral fee for directing people our way. We thought it would be too underhand a fee because a client could think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
We are in the throes of a leasehold sale of a flat in Dorking. Conveyancing is fine but we have been asked to pay an extortionate amount from the managing agents. To date we have forked out £250 for a leasehold management pack and then another £200 plus VAT for answers to queries supplied by the buyers property lawyer.
You will not have any say over the level of the charges for this information however the average costs for the information for Dorking leasehold property is £360. When it comes to Dorking conveyancing deals it is standard for the vendor to cover the costs. The freeholder or their agents are under no legal obligation to address these questions although many will be content to do so - albeit often at high prices disproportionate to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires capped charges for administrative tasks. There is no legal time limit by which they are obliged to provide answers.