My partner and I are looking to acquire a house in Lincoln and have instructed a Lincoln conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Birmingham Midshires have this morning contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Lincoln solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer 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 lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Lincoln lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
My partner and I are getting closer to an exchange on a house in Lincoln and my parents have transferred the 10% deposit to my solicitor. I am now advised that as the deposit has not come from me my solicitor needs to make a notification to my mortgage company. I am advised that, in also acting for the bank he must advise them that the balance of the purchase price is not just from me. I informed the lender about my parents' contribution when I applied for the home loan, so is it really appropriate for this now to be an issue?
Your lawyer is duty bound to check with the bank to make sure that they understand that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. The solicitor can only notify this to your mortgage company if you permit them to, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
We had selected conveyancers based in Lincoln on the UBS solicitor panel. They are now charging me a separate fee for the legal aspects of the UBS mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by UBS?
Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your conveyancing practitioner is entitled to levy a fee for this. This fee is not dictated by UBS but by your Lincoln lawyer. Some firms on the UBS panel will quote ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but some practices include it on their overall fee.
Can I be sure that the Lincoln conveyancing solicitor on the HSBC panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Lincoln seeking recommendations is a sensible start. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one advertising the lowest fees. We would always recommend that you speak with the solicitor carrying out your transaction.
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Lincoln. My mortgage broker suggested a conveyancing practitioner. I paid an upfront payment of £225. A couple of days later, the lawyer called me to say that they were not on the UBS 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 UBS 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.
We're first time buyers - agreed a price, yet the property agent has warned us that the seller will only proceed if we appoint the agent's preferred lawyers as they need an ‘expedited deal’. We would rather use a family solicitor used to conveyancing in Lincoln
It is highly unlikely the vendors are driving this. If they desire ‘a quick sale', taking such a hostile approach to a motivated buyer is likely to cause more damage than good. Speak to the vendors direct and make the point that (a)you are serious buyers (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you do not need to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you intend to appoint your preferred Lincoln conveyancing solicitors - not the ones that will give their negotiator at the agency a kickback or hit his conveyancing thresholds pre-set by head office.
I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Lincoln. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.
If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Lincoln - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
I acquired a garden flat in Lincoln, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding properties in Lincoln with an extended lease are worth £255,000. The ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2099
With only 73 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £8,600 and £9,800 plus legals.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.
My cousin is purchasing a ground floor flat in Lincoln. He was given a quote by the solicitor suggested by the estate agents and it came to £1245 . It was ten years ago since I sold and purchased a home and the fee was £500. Have fees really increased to that extent?
What does the conveyancing estimate include? Is it just for the legal fees, or what you will be paying in total (for instance Lincoln searches, land registry fees, etc)