My husband and I are planning to buy a 2 bedroom apartment in Marlborough with a mortgage. We like our Marlborough lawyer, but the mortgage company advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel solicitors or retain our Marlborough conveyancing practitioner as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to represent them. We consider that this is inequitable; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’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. Another option that might be available is for your Marlborough conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
I can not work out if my mortgage offer requires a lease extension. I have called my Marlborough building society branch on a couple of occasions and was advised it wasn't a problem and they will lend. My Marlborough conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- called to say that they refuse to lend based on their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. Who do I believe?
Provided that the property lawyer is on the bank approved list, she or he must follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook provisions for the bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the lender will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Marlborough. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their conveyancing practitioner. I paid an on account payment of £225. Shortly after, the lawyer contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Aldermore panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
Bank of Ireland have agreed my home loan in principle, my bid on a flat in Marlborough has been agreed to, now what?
Your estate agent will wish to know who your solicitors are (be sure the conveyancing practitioners are on the bank’s panel). Contact Bank of Ireland or your financial adviser and complete any outstanding forms. Bank of Ireland will sellect a valuer who will get in contact with the selling agent or owners to book an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes on average a fortnight for the mortgage offer to be issued. Bank of Ireland will issue the offer to you and your conveyancing practitioners. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Marlborough.
I got the keys to my flat on 14 July and my personal details are still not registered. Should I be concerned? My conveyancing solicitor in Marlborough expressed confidence that it should be registered in less than a month. Are properties in Marlborough particularly slow to register?
There is nothing unique about conveyancing in Marlborough registration formalities. Rather than based on location, timeframes can differ subject to the party submitting the application, whether there are errors and whether the Land registry need to notify any 3rd persons or bodies. At present approximately three quarters of submission are fully dealt with within two weeks but occasionally there can be longer hold-ups. Historically registration is effected once the purchaser is living at the premises thus 'speed' is not always an essential issue but where there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your lawyers must communicate with the Registry to express the reasoning for the application to be prioritised.
How does conveyancing in Marlborough differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Marlborough come to us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is built. This is because new home sellers in Marlborough usually acquire the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Marlborough or who has acted in the same development.
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Marlborough from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?
- Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Marlborough can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers. If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Marlborough leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. If you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance. If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved. Many freeholders or Management Companies in Marlborough levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Marlborough.
I acquired a studio flat in Marlborough, conveyancing was carried out in 2003. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent properties in Marlborough with a long lease are worth £191,000. The ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease finishes on 21st October 2079
With just 53 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £27,600 and £31,800 plus costs.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.
There are a lot of houses in Marlborough on unadopted roads. We are acquiring such a house. What would be the advantages and disadvantages of purchasing a residence on a privately owned road?
Marlborough conveyancing practices are familiar with transacting homeson unadopted roads. The conveyancing practitioner will investigate title to find any rights or responsibilities. It is possible that there is a residents association that owners make annual contributions to maintain the road. If there is one, the road should be maintained and look nicer than council maintained.