My partner and I are planning to buy a house in Holloway and have instructed a Holloway conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Coventry Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Holloway lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the mortgage company. 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Holloway solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
My aunt passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Holloway. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £4500. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to TSB, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
Given you plan to re-mortgage then TSB will require that you use a conveyancer on the TSB conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your TSB conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the TSB mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
We had chosen conveyancers located in Holloway on the Yorkshire BS solicitor approved list. They have just billed me a separate charge for the legal aspects of the Yorkshire BS mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Yorkshire BS?
Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your lawyer may levy a fee for this. This charge is not dictated by Yorkshire BS but by your Holloway conveyancing practitioner. Plenty of firms on the Yorkshire BS panel will levy ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
We have a mortgage agreed in principle with Virgin Money. Holloway conveyancing lawyers have been chosen. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Virgin Money?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Virgin Money conducted the valuation? Have you informed Virgin Money as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
It is unclear whether my bank obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called into my local Holloway bank branch on various occasions and was reassured it wasn't a problem and they will lend. My Holloway conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they refuse to lend based on their specific requirements. Who do I believe?
The conveyancer must follow the CML Handbook Part 2 specifications for your lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Holloway?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Holloway. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
I need to find a conveyancing solicitor for purchase conveyancing in Holloway. I happened to land on a site which looks to be the perfect answer If there is a chance to get all the legals completed via web 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?
I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have just been informed that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Holloway. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?
Most houses in Holloway are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Holloway so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Holloway conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.