I am progressing with the sale of my maisonette in Maltby and the estate agent has just telephoned to say that the purchasers are appointing a new solicitor. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major mortgage company only engage with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Maltby ?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in recent years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for over 25 years.
Banks justify this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms 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 buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
I have been referred to a conveyancing solicitor in Maltby. I need to find out if they are accepted on the Godiva Mortgages Ltd conveyancing panel. Can you advise?
The first thing to do is e-mail the conveyancer and ask them whether they can act for the lender. Alternatively you should call Godiva Mortgages Ltd who may be able to confirm.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Maltby prior to instructing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. My surveyor advised that some banks may not issue a mortgage on this type of premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to call us we can investigate further with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Maltby. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Maltby especially if they are acquainted with such properties in Maltby.
Should I instruct a Maltby conveyancing solicitor based in the location that I am buying? We have a good friend who can carry out the conveyancing however they are based 300miles away.
The primary upside of using a local Maltby conveyancing firm is that you can visit the firm to sign paperwork, hand in your ID and pester them if necessary. They will also have local insight which is a plus. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have instructed your friend and they were content that should outweigh using an unknown Maltby conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being local.
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Maltby which have in the region of fifty years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?
A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena.
Maltby Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing
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The prefered form of lease structure is where the freehold title is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this arrangement the tenants benefit from control and although a managing agent is usually retained where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Most Maltby leasehold apartments will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the building set on behalf of the freeholder. Should you purchase the flat you will have to meet this charge, usually in instalments throughout the year. This could vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal areas. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a significant figure, say around £25-£75 but you need to check as occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds.
Me and my partner are purchasing a four bedroom ground floor flatin Maltby with a loan from a lender. We have a solicitor in Maltby however our lender inform us now that she’s not approved on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the our bank panel solicitors or stay with our Maltby conveyancer and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that our bank use our Maltby lawyer?
Unfortunately,no. The bank home loan offered to you is subject to conditions, one of which will be that solicitors will on the bank's conveyancing panel. in the past, most banks had open panels, including many conveyancing solicitors in Maltby : a mortgagee 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. A further alternative is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your lender.