I am progressing with the sale of my ground floor flat in Frome and the estate agent has just e-mailed to advise that the purchasers are appointing a new solicitor. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named mortgage company only deal with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Frome ?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in recent years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 25 years.
Lenders justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
I am acquiring a house mortgage free in Frome. I have resided for the last twelve years in Frome. Conveyancing searches are expensive. Given that I have knowledge of the road and vicinity intimately must I have all the conveyancing searches?
If you not getting a mortgage, then all but one or two of the Frome conveyancing searches are optional. Your lawyer will 'advise', perhaps strongly, that you should have searches carried out, but he is duty bound to take that path of guidance. Do take into account; if you are likely to sell the house in the future, it will likely be be of importance to your prospective purchaser what the searches disclose. There are plenty of instances where properties with day to day issues can still throw up negative search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in Frome should be able to give you some helpful guidance in this regard.
I am being advised by my lawyer that lack of right of way insurance is required on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Frome conveyancing?
The right level of lack of right of way indemnity insurance should be dictated by who your lender. It would differ for example between Nationwide Building Society and Leeds Building Society. Conveyancing solicitors as opposed to members of the public take out such insurances.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Skipton. I assume I don't need a Frome solicitor on the Skipton panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Skipton mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Skipton mortgage from the register. Skipton, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Skipton has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Skipton has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I was told three weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Lloyds. Is it usual for Lloyds to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Frome is approved on their conveyancing panel? Lloyds have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their Professional Indemnity Insurance Schedule.
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Lloyds to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Frome in advance of appointing conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies will refuse to grant a loan on this type of house.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different requirements for example to Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can look into this further via the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Frome. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Frome to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
I need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor for my conveyancing in Frome. I have chance upon a site which looks to be the perfect offering If it is possible to get all formalities completed via email that would be preferable. Should I be wary? What are the potential pitfalls?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
Are there frequently found problems that you encounter in leases for Frome properties?
There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Frome. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:
-
Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Alliance & Leicester all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.
I own a 2 bed flat in Frome, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent flats in Frome with an extended lease are worth £192,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2079
With only 54 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £32,300 and £37,400 plus professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.