My partner and I are planning to buy a home in Dunstable and have instructed a Dunstable conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Platform Home Loans Ltd have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Dunstable solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Dunstable lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
We are purchasing a property and need a conveyancing solicitor in Dunstable who is on the HSBC solicitor panel. Can you recommend a local conveyancing firm?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for HSBC . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in Dunstable.
We are due to move home in September. Does my conveyancing solicitor call the removal company on the day of completion. As an aside, can you suggest a removal company in Dunstable. Conveyancing solicitor was organised before I stumbled across your site.
On the day of completion you will need to collect the keys from your selling agent however this should only happen when the vendors conveyancers advise the agent that they acknowledge receipt of the completion payment and the keys can be passed over. After that you can tell the removal men that they can start moving you in. As a matter of policy we do not recommend a particular removal organisation but can assist you in choosing a conveyancing in Dunstable or a firm that specialises in conveyancing in Dunstable.
We had selected solicitors based in Dunstable on the Nationwide solicitor panel. They are now charging me a separate charge for dealing with the Nationwide mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set by Nationwide?
Unfortunately, so long as it is in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your property lawyer is entitled to charge a fee for this. The fee is not dictated by Nationwide but by your Dunstable property lawyer. Numerous firms on the Nationwide panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but some firms include it on their overall fee.
The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Dunstable. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I would like to complain about the lender. How do I make a complaint?
Almost all lenders have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Department at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR who will take matters further.
How does conveyancing in Dunstable differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Dunstable approach us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is finished. This is because builders in Dunstable tend to acquire the site, 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 conveyancers 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 Dunstable or who has acted in the same development.
Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Dunstable from the perspective of expediting the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Dunstable can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers’ representatives. If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing. If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Dunstable leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you fail to have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand. A minority of Dunstable leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
I purchased a 1st floor flat in Dunstable, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding properties in Dunstable with an extended lease are worth £197,000. The ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2080
You have 54 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £32,300 and £37,400 plus professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.
My husband and I are buying a three room first floor flatin Dunstable with a residential mortgage from a bank. We have a lawyer in Dunstable but our lender says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint from the our bank panel solicitors or stay with our Dunstable solicitor and incur the extra fees for one of their panel ones to represent our lender. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that our mortgage company use our Dunstable lawyer?
No, not really. The bank mortgage offered to you is subject to conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank's conveyancing panel. in the past, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels, including almost all conveyancing solicitors in Dunstable : a mortgagee could choose 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. A further alternative is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your lender.