Me and my wife are buying a ground floor flat in Merseyside. My property lawyer is not listed on the mortgage company conveyancing panel. Am I still permitted to retain my Merseyside conveyancing solicitor even though they are excluded from the lender panel?
You will need to have a property lawyer to complete the formalities if you need a loan to buy your property. The conveyancing practitioner will carry out all the appropriate legal checks on the property, make sure that you’re registered as proprietor and ensure that all the necessary mortgage paperwork is dealt with. One could select a Merseyside solicitor of your choice. Nevertheless, if the property lawyer appointed is not on the lender solicitor panel additional charges will be levied as separate legal representation will be required by them. Conveyancing panel applications can be submitted, so if your solicitor has not in the past sought membership they should take the opportunity to apply.
We note that you have a post code search directory listing law firms on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a referral fee if I retain them for our own conveyancing in Merseyside?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Merseyside.
My husband and I are buying a 1 bedroom apartment in Merseyside with a loan from Lloyds TSB Bank.We use our Merseyside conveyancing solicitor but Lloyds TSB Bank says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint a Lloyds TSB Bank panel lawyer or retain our high street solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that Lloyds TSB Bank use our lawyer?
No, not really. The mortgage issued to you is subject to its terms and conditions, a common one being that conveyancers must be on the Lloyds TSB Bank approved list. in the past, most banks 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 solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Lloyds TSB Bank
Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Merseyside prior to retaining conveyancers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the house. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies tend not issue a loan on this type of home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements from Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to telephone us we can look into this further with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Merseyside. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Merseyside to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
I own a leasehold house in Merseyside. Conveyancing and The Mortgage Works mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Merseyside who previously acted has now retired. Any advice?
First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Merseyside conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
I acquired a leasehold flat in Merseyside, conveyancing having been completed 10 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar flats in Merseyside with a long lease are worth £192,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2080
With just 54 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £32,300 and £37,400 as well as legals.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.
Do I cancel my mortgage payments with TSB once a completion date for my home sale in Merseyside has been set?
You are best advised to maintain paying any mortgage payments to TSB pending the mortgage being paid off on completion as part of your Merseyside conveyancing.