I had intended to instruct a property lawyer in Earlsfield for our house move. Our broker has since advised us that our mortgage company The Royal Bank of Scotland won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unfair competition?
A lender will direct that an approved conveyancer act for it. You would be expected to meet the cost of this. Try using our search facility to locate a solicitor to conduct conveyancing in Earlsfield on the The Royal Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Bank of Ireland, do Earlsfield solicitors incur a fee to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are unaware of any lender fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
I have a mortgage with Yorkshire BS for my property in Earlsfield. Conveyancing has been completed a year ago. Should I wish to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Yorkshire BS?
You must advise Yorkshire BS prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Yorkshire BS’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Yorkshire BS 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 Yorkshire BS directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel solicitor.
Intending to buy a flat in Earlsfield. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Earlsfield solicitor is on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel.
My friend recommended that if I am buying in Earlsfield I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Earlsfield conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Earlsfield around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Earlsfield Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Earlsfield.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our property are lost. The lawyers who did the conveyancing in Earlsfield 10 years ago have long since closed. Will I be able to sell the house?
As long as the title is registered the information relating to your ownership will be held by the Land Registry with a Title Number. It is possible to carry out a search at the Land Registry, locate your house and obtain current copies of the Registered Entries for less than a fiver. Where the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually retain a certified copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be retrieved for £20 inclusive of VAT.
I opted to have a survey carried out on a property in Earlsfield ahead of retaining lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. Our surveyor advised that some lenders tend refuse to grant a mortgage on such a house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions from Nationwide. Should you wish to call us we can check with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Earlsfield. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Earlsfield especially if they are familiar with such properties in Earlsfield.
Do I need to be suspicious that 3rd parties that I am dealing with are suggesting a web based conveyancing firm rather than a High Street Earlsfield conveyancing firm?
As with many service providers, often input from connections can be very helpful. Yet there are many people with a keen interest in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, mortgage brokers and mortgage companies may suggest conveyancers to use. Sometimes the solicitors might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but occasionally there behind the scenes financial incentive behind the recommendation. You are at liberty to choose your preferred lawyer. Don't forget that many banks specify a panel list of solicitors you have to use for the lender aspect of your conveyancing.