My wife and I are planning to buy a home in Maxton and are in fact using a Maxton conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Barnsley Building Society have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Maxton solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Maxton solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
We note that you have a post code search directory identifying firms on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a commission if I retain them for our conveyancing in Maxton?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Co-operative conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Maxton.
I am buying a property in Maxton. One unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender Nationwide be concerned?
As your lender is Nationwide your lawyer must check the formal requirements outlined in Part two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Nationwide. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook sets out minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and solicitors are required to report to Nationwide where a lease fails to meet these requirements. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not limited to Maxton.
My wife and I are in the process of viewing houses in Maxton and I am about to put in an offer. Is it best to have my conveyancer on ‘stand by’? I will be getting a home loan with Lloyds.
It would be advisable to commence your search sooner rather than later. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their contact information on to the estate agent. As you are taking out a mortgage with Lloyds, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Lloyds conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
I have a mortgage with Clydesdale for my property in Maxton. Conveyancing was finalised some time ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Clydesdale?
Clydesdale must be informed of your intention before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Clydesdale’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Clydesdale directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Clydesdale conveyancing panel firm.
It has been 3 months since my purchase conveyancing in Maxton completed. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
I'm purchasing a new build house in Maxton with a loan from HSBC Bank. The builders would not move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep advised me not reveal to my solicitor about this deal as it would affect my loan with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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 have been on the look out for a flat up to £235,500 and identified one close by in Maxton I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 52 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Maxton for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be problematic. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.