Me and my partner are buying a 2 bedroom apartment in Eastleigh with a mortgage. We have a Eastleigh solicitor, but the bank says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel solicitors or continue with our Eastleigh solicitor as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. We feel that this is inequitable; can we not demand that the mortgage company use our Eastleigh conveyancing practitioner ?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer 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 Eastleigh conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My wife and I are buying a newly constructed flat in Eastleigh and my conveyancer is advising me that she is duty bound to the lender to disclose incentives from the developer. I am under pressure to exchange contracts and I don't want to prolong the conveyancing. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancing practitioner. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
I have been told that property searches are the main reason for stalling in Eastleigh conveyancing transactions. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released conclusions of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the common causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Searches are not likely to be the root cause of holding up conveyancing in Eastleigh.
I'm purchasing my first flat in Eastleigh benefiting from help to buy. The builders would not budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The estate agent suggested that I not to tell my lawyer about the extras as it could affect my mortgage with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.
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.
Am I best advised to go with a Eastleigh conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am purchasing? An old friend can carry out the conveyancing but his firm is located over three hundred miles drive away.
The benefit of a local Eastleigh conveyancing firm is that you can pop in to execute documents, present your identification documents and pester them where appropriate. They will also have local knowledge which is a benefit. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have used your friend and the majority were impressed that must surpass using an unknown Eastleigh conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being round the corner.
Back In 2002, I bought a leasehold flat in Eastleigh. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Eastleigh who acted for me is not around. Any advice?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Eastleigh conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
Eastleigh Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before Purchasing
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Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments? In the main the outlay for major works are not included within maintenance charges, although a few managing agents in Eastleigh ask leaseholders to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger repairs or maintenance. Plenty Eastleigh leasehold apartments will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the block set on behalf of the freeholder. Where you buy the property you will have to meet this amount, normally in instalments during the year. This may vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a exorbitant figure, say around £25-£75 but you need to enquire it because sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds.