I am in the process of selling my home in Lydney and the EA has just called to advise that the buyers are changing their property lawyer. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading lender only engage with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Lydney ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms they are content to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 25 years.
Lenders justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.
My husband and I intend to remortgage our maisonette in Lydney with Nottingham. 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, waiving any legal rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Nottingham conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this extinguish his rights 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 Nottingham. This is solely used to protect Nottingham 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 Nottingham 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.
My wife and I buying a detached bungalow in Lydney. We would like to carry out a loft conversion at the house.Will legal conveyancing on the property include investigations to determine if these works are prohibited?
Your solicitor should review the deeds as conveyancing in Lydney will on occasion reveal restrictions in the title documents which prohibit categories of works or need the permission of a 3rd party. Many additions need local authority planning permissions and approval in accordance building regulations. Some locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which frequently prevent or impact extensions. It would be sensible to check these issues with a surveyor before you commit yourself to a purchase.
We previously instructed solicitors with offices in Lydney on the RBS solicitor approved list. They have just billed me an additional charge for dealing with the RBS mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by RBS?
Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your solicitor can charge a fee for this. The fee is not set by RBS but by your Lydney solicitor. Plenty of firms on the RBS panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but many practices include it on their overall fee.
I have finally had an offer on an apartment in Lydney accepted, but there is a chain. The vendors have offered on somewhere, but it’s not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other apartments in the pipeline. I have instructed a nearby conveyancing solicitor in Lydney. What should be my next step? When do I get the mortgage application with Kent Reliance going?
It is normal to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (home loan application is in the region of £1k, then survey, Lydney conveyancing search charges, etc). The first thing to do is ensure that your conveyancer is on the Kent Reliance approved list. Concerning the subsequent phase this very much dictated by the specifics of your transaction, attraction to this property and on the state of the market. During a buoyant market some home buyers would apply for a home loan with Kent Reliance and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they request their conveyancing practitioner to proceed with the conveyancing in Lydney.
Me and my brother purchased a semi-detached Edwardian property in Lydney. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and The Mortgage Works. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the matching address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Lydney and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also question the position with your conveyancing practitioner who carried out the work.
Just had an offer accepted on a new build flat in Lydney. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.
Here is a sample of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Lydney
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Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants.
My business partner and I are hoping to lease a unit on a shopping parade. Can you recommend lawyers offering no-sale-no fees for non-domestic conveyancing in Lydney for below 2k?
We are happy to recommend firms who host a wealth of experience of commercial conveyancing in Lydney, including the disposal and acquisition of businesses as well as simply property. If you are hoping to purchase or sell a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail unit or a whole business we will put you in touch with the right firm. Regarding the fees these will vary based on the structure and nuances of the deal. Please provide us with your contact information or call us so that we may provide you with a detailed commercial conveyancing calculation.