Much to our surprise we have been notified by our mortgage broker that my Hertfordshire lawyer is not on the bank Conveyancing panel. How can I check?
The first thing you need to do is to contact your Hertfordshire conveyancer. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to advise you of the situation. Where they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the conveyancing panel for your mortgage company.
We are expecting a mortgage offer soon. The lender mentioned the home loan came with free conveyancing. Is the implication that I have to use their panel lawyer as I would prefer to appoint a high street conveyancing solicitor in Hertfordshire?
You should check but the chances are that allocate you one of their panel conveyancers should you accept the "fee-free" incentive. Call the mortgage company and check if they make available a cash alternative. It is not unheard for a lender to give a £250 cashback as a further option in which case that money can go towards your preferred conveyancing solicitor in Hertfordshire.
I have a mortgage with Co-operative for my property in Hertfordshire. Conveyancing has been completed a year 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 BTL mortgage or inform Co-operative?
Your original mortgage agreement with Co-operative will provide that you need their approval prior to renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Co-operative’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent 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 Co-operative directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Co-operative conveyancing panel lawyer.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Hertfordshire. My mortgage broker suggested a conveyancing practitioner. I paid an upfront payment of £200. Soon after, the solicitor contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Lloyds 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 Lloyds 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.
Barclays have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on a flat in Hertfordshire has been agreed to, what happens next?
Your estate agent will wish to know who your solicitors are (be sure the solicitors are on the lender’s panel). Contact Barclays or the broker and finalise any outstanding documentation. Barclays will sellect a valuer who will get in contact with the selling agent or vendor to book an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes about ten days to get a mortgage offer. Barclays will send the offer to you and your conveyancers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Hertfordshire.
I'm buying a new build house in Hertfordshire with a mortgage from Alliance & Leicester . The builders would not move on the amount so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep advised me not disclose to my lawyer about the side-deal as it could jeopardize my mortgage with the bank. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a property I have offered on a fortnight ago in what should have been a simple, chain free conveyancing. Hertfordshire is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Hertfordshire 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 Hertfordshire you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Hertfordshire 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.
Our solicitor in Hertfordshire has uncovered a a problem with the lease for the flat we are purchasing in Hertfordshire. The seller’s lawyers have offered title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our solicitor has advised that as he is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel he must check that the lender is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the mortgage company?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the lender are the client. A precondition to being on the mortgage company approved panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects will the lease so that the bank can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected . Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.