My partner and I are hoping to buy a property in Hotwells and have instructed a Hotwells conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. TSB have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Hotwells lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for 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 solicitor should contact your mortgage company 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Hotwells lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
We see that you have a search directory listing law firms on the TSB conveyancing panel. Do companies pay you a commission if I appoint them for our own conveyancing in Hotwells?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the TSB conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Hotwells.
A relative informed me that in buying a property in Hotwells there may be a number of restrictions preventing external alterations to a property. Is this right?
We are aware of anumerous of properties in Hotwells which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to execute external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Hotwells should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
I currently have a mortgage with Aldermore for my property in Hotwells. Conveyancing was finalised some time ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Aldermore?
You must advise Aldermore in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Aldermore’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Aldermore 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 Aldermore directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Aldermore conveyancing panel firm.
Planning on purchasing a flat in Hotwells. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Hotwells conveyancer is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel.
Me and my brother own a semi-detached Georgian property in Hotwells. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Barclays Direct. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same property. Is it worth asking Barclays Direct to clarify?
You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Hotwells and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the position with your conveyancing lawyer who completed the work.
I'm purchasing a new build house in Hotwells with a loan from Bank of Scotland. The developers would not budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent told me not disclose to my solicitor about this side-deal as it could affect my mortgage with the lender. 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.
Is it possible to swap conveyancer as I need to choose one who is on the Virgin Money conveyancing list. I was using a high street conveyancing solicitor in Hotwells five minutes from me but he is not accepted by Virgin Money
It would be our pleasure to assist you find a conveyancing solicitor in Hotwells on the Virgin Money panel. Please note that the conveyancers that we list do not pay us a referral fee if you instruct them and are authorised and regulated by the SRA who regulate all conveyancing solicitors in Hotwells. In making use of search facility on this website, you can compare and instruct different solicitors and conveyancers both nationally and in Hotwells.