My husband and I are buying a 2 bedroom apartment in March with a mortgage. We have a March solicitor, however the lender says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel firms or continue with our March property lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. We consider that this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
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. A further alternative is for your March conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Can I use your services to find a Conveyancing solicitor in March even if I’m not purchasing or disposing of a house, for instance if I wish to acquire an office in March with a mortgage from Bank of Scotland?
Our comparison service is predominantly there to select domestic conveyancing solicitors in March but we have listed at the end of this page a selection of March commercial conveyancing firms. You should enquire with the company directly to see if they are also authorised to represent Bank of Scotland
A relative suggested that where I am buying in March I should ask my conveyancer to perform a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is sometimes included in the estimate for your March conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about March around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the March Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, March Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about March.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. March is the location of the property. What do you suggest?
Flying freeholds in March are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in March you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in March may decide 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.
I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in March where we see a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local March conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.
Leasehold Conveyancing in March - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing
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What prohibitions exist in the March Lease? Generally speaking the cost for major works tend not to be wrapped into the maintenance charges, albeit that there some managing agents in March ask tenants to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for major works. It is important to be aware if fixing the lift or some other significant cost is due in the foreseeable future to be shared between the leaseholders and will materially impact the level of the service fees or necessitate a one off payment.
My wife and I have recently appointed a conveyancing solicitor in March. I I would like to check if they are on the lender's approved list of lawyers. Can you help?
You should call your lawyer to enquire if they are on the bank's approved list. If that does not help call us and we can investigate and revert. If they are not on the bank panel we can certainly arrange a specialist conveyancing solicitor in March on the approved list for your mortgage company.