Much to our surprise we have been notified by our lender that my London solicitor is not on the lender Solicitor panel. How can I be sure that this is correct?
You need to call your London conveyancer. You lawyer should inform you what has happened. If they are not on the panel they may be able to suggest a London conveyancing firm that is on the conveyancing panel for your mortgage company.
At what point does exchange of contracts happen for domestic conveyancing in London and do I need to attend the conveyancers office?
If you are in close proximity to one of the conveyancing solicitors in London you are invited in to sign the paperwork. However, the firms we recommend supply countrywide coverage for conveyancing and provide as equally comprehensive and professional a job for you when communicating with you by post or email. The signing of the sale agreement is not when everything is set in stone. A signed contract is necessary for the conveyancer to address the formalities when the time is right, which is ordinarily shortly after signing. The procedure is nowadays normally dealt with by telephone and can be very rapid, although where a long "chain" is in the mix, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in London)to be in the office available at the end of the phone to exchange contracts.
It is unclear whether my lender requires a lease extension. I have called my London bank branch on a couple of occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they would lend. My London conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they refuse to lend in accordance with their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. I simply don't know who is right.
As long as the solicitor is on the lender panel, they must adhere to the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook specifications for the bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank 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 remaining.
I've digested plenty of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local London solicitor - who is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Lloyds will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Lloyds 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 London 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.
Our offer on a property in London has been agreed to, but there is a chain. The vendors have placed an offer on a flat, however it’s not yet tied up, and have viewings of other flats booked. I have selected a nearby conveyancing solicitor in London. What should be my next step? At what stage do I apply for the mortgage with Co-operative?
It is understandable to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is in the region of one thousand pounds, then valuation, London conveyancing search costs, etc). The first thing to do is check that your conveyancer is on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. Regarding the subsequent stages this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, motivation for this property and on the state of the market. During a buoyant market the majority of buyers would apply for the mortgage with Co-operative and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they request their conveyancing practitioner to proceed with the conveyancing in London.
I'm buying my first flat in London with a mortgage from Godiva Mortgages Ltd. The sellers would not reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The sale representative advised me not reveal to my conveyancer about this extras as it will impact my loan with the bank. 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.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a property I have offered on a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a quick, no chain conveyancing. London is where the house is located. Is there any guidance you can give?
Flying freeholds in London are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in London you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in London may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.
Sixweeks into a sale of a flat in London. Conveyancing solicitors are doing their job but we have been asked to pay a fortune from the landlord. To date we have issued a cheque for £295.50 for a leasehold management information and then another £117.20 for additional questions raised by the purchaser's lawyer.
Your property lawyer will unlikely have any control over the extent of the charges for this information however the typical fee for the information for London leasehold property is £395. For London conveyancing sales it is customary for the owner to cover the charges. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to address such questions most will be content to do so - albeit often at high prices disproportionate to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no legislation that requires capped charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time limit by which they are obliged to provide the information.