I am progressing with the sale of my house in Garstang and the EA has just e-mailed to warn that the buyers are changing their conveyancer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the mortgage company will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading mortgage company only engage with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Garstang ?
Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in recent years big names such as Santander, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.
Mortgage companies attribute this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. No lender will say 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. Some 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. The purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
I am planning on selling our property in Garstang and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was constructed land that was not decontaminated. Any high street Garstang lawyer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the buyers are using a factory type conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Garstang. We have lived in Garstang for three years we know of no issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to obtain confirmation that the buyers are looking for.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor already. What do they say? You need to check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same illness)
It has been four months since my purchase conveyancing in Garstang concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £160,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £245,000 and found one near me in Garstang I like with amenity areas and transport links nearby, the downside is that it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Garstang for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a home loan that many years will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.
I have been pointed in your direction by numerous selling agents in Garstang to get a quote from a property lawyer using your seach tool. What’s the financial incentive for Estate Agents to promote your lawyers rather than another?
We don’t offer any commission for directing people our way. We found it would be just too difficult a fee as a client could think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
Threeweeks into a sale of a flat in Garstang. Conveyancing lawyers are doing their job but we are being charged a fortune by the managing agents. So far we have issued a cheque for £275 for a leasehold management information and then a further £134.40 for answers to questions supplied by the buyers solicitor.
Your property lawyer will not have any control over the level of the fee for this information but the average costs for the information for Garstang leasehold property is £355. For Garstang conveyancing sales it is customary for the seller to cover the charges. The freeholder or their agents are under no statutory obligation to answer such questions although many will agree to do so - albeit often at high prices disproportionate to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no legislation that requires fixed fees for administrative tasks. Neither is there any statutory time limit by which they are required to supply the information.