As a novice what is the most important number one tip you can give me about purchase conveyancing in Mancot?
You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Mancot or throughout Flintshire is often a confrontational experience. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there is an abundance of opportunity for confrontation between you and other parties involved in the transaction. For example, the vendor, selling agent and sometimes a lender. Choosing a solicitor for your conveyancing in Mancot should not be taken lightly as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the SOLE party in the process whose interest is to act in your best interests and to keep you safe.
Sometimes a third party with a vested interest may attempt to persuade you that you should follow their advice. For example, the selling agent may claim to be assisting by suggesting your conveyancer is slow. Or your financial adviser may try to convince you to do something that is against your conveyancers recommendation. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the conveyancing process.
We are purchasing a 1 bedroom apartment in Mancot with a residential mortgage from Bank of Scotland.We would like to retain our Mancot conveyancing lawyer but Bank of Scotland says her practice is not listed on their approved list of firms. We have to appoint a Bank of Scotland panel firm or retain our local solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that Bank of Scotland use our lawyer?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its various provisions, a common one being that solicitors will be on the Bank of Scotland approved list. Until recently, most mortgage companies had large numbers of solicitors on their panels: a borrower could find 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 Bank of Scotland
If you had a top tip for selecting a conveyancing solicitor in Mancot what would it be?
It would be unwise to be swayed by the cheapest Mancot conveyancing quote. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.
We had appointed conveyancers located in Mancot on the Nationwide solicitor panel. They have just billed me a supplemental charge for dealing with the Nationwide mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Nationwide?
As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your conveyancing practitioner may levy a fee for this. This fee is not set by Nationwide but by your Mancot conveyancing practitioner. Some firms on the Nationwide panel will levy ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Mancot off the council. I have a mortgage agreed with Coventry BS. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Coventry BS, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel.
A relative recommended that if I am buying in Mancot I should ask my conveyancer to perform a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is usually quoted for as part of the standard Mancot conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Mancot around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Mancot Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Mancot.
I am purchasing a new build house in Mancot benefiting from help to buy. The developers would not reduce the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The estate agent advised me not inform my conveyancer about this side-deal as it would jeopardize my mortgage with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on a fortnight ago in what should have been a simple, no chain conveyancing. Mancot is where the house is located. Can you offer any guidance?
Flying freeholds in Mancot are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Mancot 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 Mancot 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.