We are purchasing a 1 bedroom apartment in Low Moor with a mortgage. We have a Low Moor lawyer, but the bank advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel solicitors or continue with our Low Moor solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. This feels very unfair; 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 Low Moor conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My partner and I intend to remortgage our apartment in Low Moor with HSBC. We have a son approaching twenty who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the flat is repossessed. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this form unique to the HSBC conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 3 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to HSBC. This is solely used to protect HSBC if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of HSBC had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Low Moor? What am I being asked for?
It is indeed that case that the requirement set out by your lawyer has nothing to do with conveyancing in Low Moor. However these days you will not be able to proceed with any conveyancing process if you have not handing over evidence of your identity. This usually takes the form of a either your passport or driving licence and a council tax bill. Please note that if you are supplying your driving licence as proof of identification it needs to be both the paper section and photo card part, one is not acceptable without the other.
Verification of the source of money is necessary under Money Laundering Regulations. Please do not be offended when when this is requested of you as your conveyancing solicitor will need to have this information on record. Your Low Moor conveyancing practitioner will need to see evidence of proof of funds prior to accepting any monies from you into their client account and they may also ask additional questions regarding the source of funds.
I got the keys to my house on 14 June and the transaction details is not yet on the land registry website. Should I be concerned? My conveyancing solicitor in Low Moor said it would be registered in less than a month. Are titles in Low Moor uniquely lengthy to register?
As far as conveyancing in Low Moor is concerned, registration is no quicker or slower than anywhere else in England and Wales. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timescales can adjust subject to the party submitting the application, whether there are errors and whether the Land registry must send notices to any other parties. As of today approximately three quarters of submission are fully dealt with in less than three weeks but some can be subject to extensive hold-ups. Registration takes place after the purchaser is living at the premises therefore an expedited registration is not usually primary concern yet where it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your conveyancer must communicate with the Registry to express the reasoning for an expedited registration.
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Low Moor from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?
- Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Low Moor can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers’ conveyancers. Some Low Moor leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers. If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Low Moor state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Should you dont have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Low Moor - A selection of Queries before buying
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What is the name of the managing agents? Is there a share of the freehold? Is anyone aware of any major works in the near future that will increase the maintenance costs?
I am planning to acquire a house and need a conveyancing solicitor in Low Moor who is on the bank solicitor panel. Can you recommend a Low Moor or local firm?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for the lender who do conveyancing in Low Moor. We dont recommend any particular firm.