I was advised today by my mortgage broker that my Fenham solicitor is not on the mortgage company Solicitor panel. What can I do to be sure that this is correct?
The first thing you need to do is to call your Fenham conveyancer. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to notify you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the conveyancing panel for your lender.
We are buying a property and need a conveyancing solicitor in Fenham who is on the Nottingham solicitor panel. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a 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 Nottingham . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in Fenham.
I happen to be the single recipient of my late grandmother’s estate with all property in now in my sole name, including the my former home in Fenham. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in October. I now wish to sell up. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', which means that my property ownership could be treated the same way as if I'd bought the house in October. Is the property unsalable for six months?
The CML handbook requires solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you may be impacted by that. How practical a view lenders take of it, depend on the mortgage company as this clause primarily exists to capture the purchase and immediately sell or the flipping of property.
I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Fenham. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an on account payment of £150. Not long after, the conveyancing practitioner contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Lloyds 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 Lloyds 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.
Having digested plenty of house buying guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Fenham solicitor - who is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Bank of Ireland will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Bank of Ireland 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. Your conveyancing practitioner will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Fenham postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Bank of Ireland, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Fenham.
What will a local search inform me concerning the house I am buying in Fenham?
Fenham conveyancing often commences with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search organisations for example PSG The local search plays a central part in most Fenham conveyancing purchase; that is if you don’t want any unpleasant once you have moved into your new home. The search will supply 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 headings.
I opted to have a survey carried out on a house in Fenham before instructing lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies may refuse to issue a mortgage on this type of home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different requirements for example to Nationwide. If you call us we can check via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Fenham. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Fenham conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?
When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Fenham conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Fenham conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions might be of use:
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If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
Fenham Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing
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Where a Fenham lease has no more than 80 years it will affect the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension at some point and it is worth discovering what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the residence for 24 months before you are eligible to carry out a lease extension. Plenty Fenham leasehold apartments will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the block set on behalf of the landlord. If you purchase the property you will have to pay this amount, normally in instalments accross the year. This may differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, this is usually not a large sum, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to enquire it because on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds. Best to be warned if redecorating or some other significant cost is anticipated to be shared between the tenants and may well materially impact the level of the maintenance charges or necessitate a specific invoice.