I am nearing exchange of contracts for my maisonette in Downton and the estate agent has just e-mailed to advise that the purchasers are switching conveyancer. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major lender only engage with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Downton ?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.
Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to disclose 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. Plenty of firms 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 purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.
The Downton conveyancing solicitors that just started acting on my house acquisition in Downton have without warning closed. I only went with them because I needed a lawyer on the Nottingham conveyancing panel and my family Downton lawyer was not. I sent them a cheque for £250 in advance. What are my options?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know immediately so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. 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 Nottingham 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 solicitors may be able to assist.
What is the difference between a licensed conveyancer and conveyancing solicitor in Downton
There are many registered licenced Conveyancers in Downton and Solicitor practices in Downton who provide Conveyancing services It is important to make clear that both are regulated professionals specialising in the legal aspects of the home buying process. They may both also deal with associated property related work such as remortgage conveyancing, enfranchisement and transfer of equity conveyancing.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am wet behind the ears as a first time purchaser of a ground floor flat in Downton. Do I receive the keys to the house on completion from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will find a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Downton?
On the day of completion you do not need to go to the conveyancers office in Downton. Conveyancing lawyers for you will transfer the completion advance to the seller's conveyancers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you should be invited to collect the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen early afternoon.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Downton conveyancing practitioner having made sure that they are on the TSB conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
TSB will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually TSB will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Downton surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
What does a local search reveal regarding the house I am buying in Downton?
Downton conveyancing often commences with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search organisations such as Searches UK The local search is essential in every Downton conveyancing purchase; that is if you don’t want any nasty once you have moved into your property. The search should provide information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 topic areas.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Downton is the location of the property. Is there any guidance you can give?
Flying freeholds in Downton are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Downton you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Downton may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
I've recently bought a leasehold house in Downton. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I bought a garden flat in Downton, conveyancing formalities finalised 7 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Downton with an extended lease are worth £211,000. The ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease ends on 21st October 2094
With just 68 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.