My fiance and I are looking to acquire a house in Heaviley and Offerton and have appointed a Heaviley and Offerton conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Virgin Money have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Heaviley and Offerton solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Heaviley and Offerton solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
At what point does exchange of contracts take place for residential conveyancing in Heaviley and Offerton and do I need to be at the solicitors branch?
If you are local to our conveyancing solicitors in Heaviley and Offerton you are welcome to attend to sign contracts. However, the firms we recommend offer countrywide coverage for conveyancing and provide as equally diligent and professional a job for you when dealing with you by post or email. The signing of the contract is not the point of no return. A signed contract is necessary for the solicitor to address the formalities when the time is right, which will usually be very shortly after signing. The exchange process is is usually a five minute process, although where a lengthy "chain" is in the mix, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Heaviley and Offerton)to be in the office at the appropriate time.
Two weeks ago we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Bank of Ireland. Heaviley and Offerton conveyancing solicitors have been appointed. How long does it take for Bank of Ireland to send the offer to the lawyer?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have Bank of Ireland conducted the valuation? Have you informed Bank of Ireland as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.
The mortgage over my property is with Virgin Money for my property in Heaviley and Offerton. Conveyancing has been completed months ago. Should I wish to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Virgin Money?
Virgin Money must be informed of your intention before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Virgin Money’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Virgin Money directly. You need not do this via a Virgin Money conveyancing panel solicitor.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Heaviley and Offerton. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their lawyer. I paid an advanced payment of £175. A few days later, the conveyancing practitioner contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Leeds Building Society 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 Leeds Building Society 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.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on last month in what was supposed to be a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Heaviley and Offerton is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Heaviley and Offerton are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Heaviley and Offerton you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Heaviley and Offerton may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
I am selling my house. My previous solicitors has retired. I would be grateful for any recommendation of a conveyancing firm. Im based in Heaviley and Offerton if that makes a difference.
You should use our search tool to help you find a solicitor for your conveyancing in Heaviley and Offerton. We have connected thousands of home buyers and sellers with regulated solicitors to ensure that the legalities of their house move goes with a minimum of fuss.
I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Heaviley and Offerton where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Heaviley and Offerton conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
I own a split level flat in Heaviley and Offerton, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable flats in Heaviley and Offerton with an extended lease are worth £221,000. The ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2095
You have 70 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. 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 move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.