I am refinancing my flat in Llanelli, does my lawyer need to be on the Aldermore Solicitor panel?
There is nothing to stop you using your solicitor, but Aldermore will insist on their interests being represented by a firm on their conveyancing panel. There is greater potential for delays and confusion with an additional lawyer added to the mix, and it will undoubtedly be more expensive too.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Llanelli. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Lloyds have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Lloyds your lawyer must follow the conveyancing instructions set out in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Lloyds. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook stipulates minimum conditions for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancers are required to report to Lloyds where a lease fails to meet these provisions. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not isolated to Llanelli.
I have a mortgage with Co-operative for my property in Llanelli. Conveyancing was finalised some time 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?
You must advise Co-operative prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Co-operative’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Co-operative 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 Co-operative directly. You need not do this via a Co-operative conveyancing panel solicitor.
I've digested plenty of house buying guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Llanelli solicitor - who is on the Principality conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Principality will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Principality 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. Your conveyancer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Llanelli postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Principality, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Llanelli.
I have been told that property searches are the main cause of obstruction in Llanelli conveyancing transactions. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the conclusions of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the most frequent causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Local searches are not likely to feature in any holding up conveyancing in Llanelli.
My wife and I have a 4 bedroom Georgian property in Llanelli. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Bank of Scotland. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the matching address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You should 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 Llanelli and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the position with the conveyancing solicitor who completed the work.
I opted to have a survey done on a house in Llanelli in advance of appointing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. My surveyor advised that some mortgage companies may not grant a mortgage on this type of property.
It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different requirements for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can check with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Llanelli. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Llanelli especially if they regularly deal with such properties in Llanelli.
I see that you have a post code search directory identifying law firms on the lender conveyancing panel. Do Llanelli conveyancing firms pay you a referral fee if I retain them for my conveyancing?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the bank conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to the any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Llanelli.