Me and my fiance are buying a 1 bedroom apartment in Luton with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Luton lawyer, however the lender advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel solicitors or continue with our Luton conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel lawyers to represent them. This feels very unfair; are we not able to demand that the mortgage company use our Luton property lawyer ?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’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 Luton conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My nephew is in the process of securing a new build apartment in Luton with a home loan from Clydesdale. His lawyer has said that there is a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?
The form is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Clydesdale conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
My grandfather passed away last year and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Luton. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £5k. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Nationwide, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
If you intend to re-mortgage then Nationwide will require that you use a conveyancer on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Nationwide conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Nationwide mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
Me and my partner are purchasing a property in Luton. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a conveyancer? At some point we will need to put money into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our deposit?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
This question may be naive but I am wet behind the ears as a first time buyer of a two bedroom flat in Luton. Do I receive the keys to the premises on the completion date from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will instruct a local conveyancing solicitor in Luton?
On the day of completion you do not need to attend the conveyancers office in Luton. Conveyancing lawyers for you will transfer the completion advance to the owner’s conveyancers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be called to pick up the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this occurs early afternoon.
After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Luton. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an upfront payment of £200. Soon after, the lawyer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Principality 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 Principality 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.
Have purchased a a detached house in Luton , how long should it take for the Land Registry to record my title? My Luton conveyancing solicitor has been painfully slow, so I want to check that my name is registered.
There is nothing unique when it comes to conveyancing in Luton registration formalities. Rather than based on location, timeframes can vary subject to who lodges the application, whether it is in order and if the Land registry need to notify any 3rd persons or bodies. As of today approximately 80% of such applications are fully dealt with within 12 days but some can be subject to protracted delays. Registration is effected after the new owner is living at the property so registration formalities is not typically an essential issue but where there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your solicitor should contact the land registry and explain the circumstances.
I work for a busy estate agent office in Luton where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Luton conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
Luton Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying
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Who are the managing agents? In the main the cost for major works tend not to be built into the service charges, although some managing agents in Luton ask leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific intention of establishing a fund for larger repairs or maintenance. The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the lessees enjoy being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently retained where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders.