Me and my fiance are buying a 2 bedroom flat in Forest of Dean with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Forest of Dean conveyancer, however the mortgage company says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel firms or continue with our Forest of Dean property lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. We consider that this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’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 Forest of Dean conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My solicitor has identified a defect with the lease for the property we are purchasing in Forest of Dean. The other side have suggested title insurance as a solution. We are happy with insurance and will pay for it. Our lawyer says that he must ensure that the lender is content with this solution. Are we the client or is the mortgage company ?
Notwithstanding that you have a mortgage offer from the lender does not mean to say that the property will meet their conditions for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. You and the lender are the client. These conveyancing instructions have to be complied with.
Are the BSA planning on creating a searchable register to to identify firms on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel for instance in Forest of Dean?
We are not aware of any intention on the part of the BSA to promote such a register.
I just bought a property at auction in Forest of Dean. Conveyancing is needed. What is next?
Now that you have legally committed yourself to purchase you should retain a conveyancing practitioner as a matter of priority as you are facing a pending a drop dead date to complete the transaction. Every auction property should have a corresponding auction set of papers. This will likely include most,if not all of the documents that your solicitor will need. Where you are dealing with leasehold premises the conveyancing papers should include a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing paperwork relating to leasehold premises. You need to hand this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor at the earliest opportunity. Do make sure that that you have the requisite funding in place to complete the transaction on the set completion date.
Please help - my lawyer says that defective lease insurance is needed on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Forest of Dean conveyancing?
The right level of defective lease indemnity insurance should be dictated by who who your lender is. It would differ for example between Santander and Skipton Building Society. Conveyancing solicitors as opposed to borrowers take out such policies.
I am buying a property in Forest of Dean. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender UBS be concerned?
Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with UBS your lawyer must check the formal instructions contained in Part two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for UBS. The CML Handbook stipulates minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancers are required to report to UBS where a lease fails to meet these requirements. The specifications relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not restricted to Forest of Dean.
My colleague suggested that if I am purchasing in Forest of Dean I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is sometimes included in the estimate for your Forest of Dean conveyancing searches. It is a large report of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about Forest of Dean around the property and the people living there. It includes 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 Property Price, Crime statistics, Forest of Dean Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Forest of Dean.
Me and my brother purchased a 4 bedroom Edwardian house in Forest of Dean. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Godiva Mortgages Ltd. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the matching property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Forest of Dean and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.