My wife and I are planning to purchase a property in Lyddington and are in fact using a Lyddington conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Skipton Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Lyddington lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. 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 bank 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 Lyddington lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
I am buying a property without a mortgage in Lyddington. I have been living for the previous 15 years in Lyddington. Conveyancing searches are expensive. Given that I have knowledge of the road and vicinity intimately should I not bother getting the solicitor to do all the conveyancing searches?
Provided that you do not need a home loan, then the vast majority of the Lyddington conveyancing searches are optional. Your conveyancer will 'advise', perhaps strongly, that you should have searches completed, but he has a professional duty to do this. One thing to take into account; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it may be of importance to your prospective purchaser what the searches disclose. There are plenty of instances where premises with no practical issues can still reveal unexpected search results. A competent conveyancing solicitor in Lyddington should be able to give you some sensible advice here.
I just acquired a flat at auction in Lyddington. Conveyancing is required. What are my next steps?
Having for in every practical sense signed on the dotted line you should choose a conveyancing solicitor quickly as you now have a pending deadline in which to complete the conveyancing. Every auction property will ordinarily have a bespoke legal set of papers. This should include evidence of title and search results. In the case of leasehold premises the auction pack may provide a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing paperwork relating to leasehold premises. You should give this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor at the earliest opportunity. You also need to ensure that that you have the requisite funding in order to complete the transaction on the set completion date.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Lyddington. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender Co-operative be concerned?
Given that your lender is Co-operative your lawyer must comply with the conveyancing instructions outlined in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Co-operative. The CML Handbook includes minimum specifications for solar panel roof-space leases, and solicitors are required to report to Co-operative where a lease fails to meet these requirements. The provisions relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not limited to Lyddington.
Completion of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Lyddington. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I would like to complain about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I have offered on a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a simple, chain free conveyancing. Lyddington is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Lyddington 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 Lyddington you would need to get your solicitor to go 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 Lyddington 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.
Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Lyddington with the intention of expediting the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Lyddington can be reduced if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers’ solicitors. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Lyddington state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you fail to have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first. You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale. Some Lyddington leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
I acquired a 2 bed flat in Lyddington, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable properties in Lyddington with an extended lease are worth £211,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease ceases on 21st October 2093
With only 67 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.
My husband and I are hoping to buy a four bedroom ground floor flatin Lyddington with a loan from a lender. We wish to instruct our solicitor in Lyddington yet our bank advise he's not approved on their "panel". Apparently we need to choose one of the our bank panel firms or keep our Lyddington conveyancer and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that our bank use our Lyddington lawyer?
No, not really. The mortgage company mortgage issued is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that solicitors will on the mortgage company's conveyancing panel. Until recently, most banks had open panels, including many conveyancing solicitors in Lyddington : 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 solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your bank.