I am progressing with the sale of my home in Harrold and the estate agent has just telephoned to warn that the buyers are switching law firm. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only engage with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a major lender only deal with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Harrold ?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for over 25 years.
Mortgage companies justify this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. 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. The buyers are not going to have any impact on this.
IfI were to buy a simple residential homein Harrold for cash and have no survey and no local authority searches how much could I expect to have to pay for conveyancing in Harrold?
Any savings you would make will be isolated to the Harrold conveyancing searches. Your lawyer is required to do the vast majority of work - money laundering, correspond with the sellers conveyancer, SDLT return, register the property etc. You might save a bit for them not having to register a charge but it won't be meaningful.
Various online forums that I have frequented warn that are the main reason for delay in Harrold house deals. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the conclusions of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the common causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Searches are unlikely to feature in any slowing down conveyancing in Harrold.
I used Arc property Solicitors a few years ago for my conveyancing in Harrold. I now require my papers but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Harrold of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
Last January I purchased a leasehold house in Harrold. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I invested in buying a garden flat in Harrold, conveyancing formalities finalised 3 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar flats in Harrold with an extended lease are worth £185,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2086
You have 60 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £20,000 and £23,000 as well as legals.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.
I dont have enough spare money to pay a 10% deposit on my flat purchase in Harrold , but I am anxious go ahead. What can I do?
One option is to try and accept a smaller deposit. Many vendors will agree to a lower deposit or even no deposit for a first time buyer or 100% mortgage. Be aware though that if you fail to complete you will still need to hand over a minimum of 10% of the purchase price regardless of how much deposit was agreed.
You can also agree a simultaneous exchange and completion as no deposit is required for this however neither party will be tied in until completion actually takes place and it can be risky if sellers change their mind at the last second