We are planning to purchase a 3 bedroom flat in Dunston with a mortgage. We like our Dunston conveyancer, however the bank advise she’s not on their "panel". It seems we have no option but to use one of the bank panel conveyancing practices or continue with our Dunston conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. We consider that this is inequitable; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower 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 Dunston conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
It is a dozen years since I purchased my home in Dunston. Conveyancing solicitors have recently been retained on the sale but I can't track down my title documents. Will this jeopardise the sale?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly there is a chance that the deeds will be kept by the mortgage company or they may be in the possession of the solicitor who handled the purchase. Secondly in most cases the land will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Dunston relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is unregistered it is more of a problem but is not insurmountable.
I have a decision in principle. The bank mentioned the mortgage came with free conveyancing. Is the implication that I have to appoint their panel solicitor as I would prefer to use a high street conveyancing solicitor in Dunston?
Do check but the the probability is that appoint one of their panel solicitors where you want the "fee-free" incentive. Call the lender to ask if they allow a monetary alternative. In the past a few lenders offered a £250 cashback as a further option in which case that money can go towards your preferred conveyancing solicitor near Dunston.
Do I find a Licenced Conveyancer or Solicitor for conveyancing in Dunston?
There are many registered licenced Conveyancers in Dunston and Solicitor practices in Dunston who provide Conveyancing services We would stress that the two are supervised by regulatory bodies with both specialising in the legal aspects of the home buying process. The two can conduct associated property related work such as remortgage conveyancing, lease extensions and transfer of equity conveyancing.
I have a mortgage with Skipton for my property in Dunston. Conveyancing was finalised months ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Skipton?
Skipton must be informed of your intention before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Skipton’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Skipton will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Skipton directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Skipton conveyancing panel lawyer.
I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in Dunston. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £150. A couple of days later, the property lawyer called me to say that they were not on the Barclays conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Barclays panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
My relative advised me that where I am purchasing in Dunston I should ask my conveyancer to perform a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is usually included in the estimate for your Dunston conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Dunston around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Dunston.
I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Dunston. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.
Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Dunston - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
I invested in buying a 2 bed flat in Dunston, conveyancing formalities finalised 8 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable properties in Dunston with a long lease are worth £260,000. The ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2100
You have 74 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.