We are buying a 1 bedroom apartment in Kempston with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Kempston lawyer, however the lender advise she’s not on their "panel". It appears that we have no choice but to instruct one of the mortgage company panel solicitors or retain our Kempston solicitor as well as pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. We consider that this is inequitable; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your Kempston conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Last March we completed a house move in Kempston. We have noticed several issues with the property which we consider were missed in the conveyancing searches. Is there anything we can do? Can you clarify the type of searches that needed to have been conducted for conveyancing in Kempston?
It is not clear from the question as to the nature of the problems and if they are unique to conveyancing in Kempston. Conveyancing searches and due diligence initiated during the legal transfer of property are supposed to help avoid problems. As part of the legal transfer of property, the vendor fills in a form called a SPIF. If the information ends up being misleading, you could possibly take legal action against the vendor for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Kempston.
We are buying a newly converted apartment in Kempston with a homeloan from Nottingham Building Society.We use our Kempston conveyancing solicitor but Nottingham Building Society informed us he's not on their "panel". It seems we are left with little choice but to instruct a Nottingham Building Society panel lawyer or keep our preferred solicitor and fork out for a Nottingham Building Society panel lawyer to represent them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that Nottingham Building Society use our lawyer?
Unfortunately,no. The loan offered to you is subject to its various provisions, one of which will be that lawyers must be on the Nottingham Building Society approved list. in the past, most banks had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Nottingham Building Society
Is it the case that all Kempston solicitor firms on the Principality conveyancing panel are regulated by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Principality conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the SRA. The majority of mortgage companies do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be overseen by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
Intending to buy a house in Kempston. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender 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 Kempston lawyer is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel.
I have instructed a Kempston property lawyer having checked that they are on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Yorkshire BS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Yorkshire BS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Kempston surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £305k and identified one close by in Kempston I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 61 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Kempston suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a home loan the shortness of the lease may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you may request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.
My hope is to acquire a garden maisonette in Kempston. Conveyancing lawyer has been awaiting, from the seller, building insurance documents. This afternoon I was informed that the owner needs to forward the insurance documents for the flat above as well. Why does my property lawyer want to review the insurance for the other flat? Is it really necessary? We have been in hold for the last month…
It is not unheard of in leasehold conveyancing in Kempston to find Conveyancing in Kempston in a minority of cases reveals that the lease requires the leasehold owners to insure their individual flats as opposed to the freeholder insuring the complete building - which is definitely better. You should check with your conveyancer but it would seem that your conveyancing practitioner is attempting to establish that the entire building is insured. Insuring a ground floor apartment is no help when it comes to rebuilding after a fire if the other flat cannot be reconstructed as a result of lack of insurance.