My husband and I are acquiring a newly built duplex in Milton Keynes and my solicitor is telling me that she has to the bank to reveal incentives from the builder. I am on a tight deadline to sign contracts and I have no desire to prolong the conveyancing. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your solicitor. A precondition to being on a lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
It is a dozen years since I bought my home in Milton Keynes. Conveyancing solicitors have recently been appointed on the sale but I can't find the title deeds. Is this a major issue?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly the deeds may be kept by the lender or they could be in the possession of the solicitor who acted in the purchase. Secondly in most cases the title will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers procuring current official copies of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Milton Keynes involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it is more tricky but is resolvable.
I am considering applying for a Aldermore mortgage for purchase of a newly converted (under development) in Milton Keynes with 60% LTV. Is it compulsory to choose a solicitor on the conveyancing panel for Aldermore ?
In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on the Aldermore conveyancing panel, but Aldermore would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same conveyancing matter.
We previously instructed conveyancers located in Milton Keynes on the Nottingham solicitor approved list. They have just billed me an additional fee for handling the Nottingham mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Nottingham?
Provided it is contained in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your property lawyer can charge a fee for this. The charge is not set by Nottingham but by your Milton Keynes conveyancing practitioner. Some firms on the Nottingham panel will levy ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Milton Keynes. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an upfront payment of £150. Not long after, the conveyancer called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Bank of Ireland 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 Bank of Ireland 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.
About to purchase apartment in Milton Keynes. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Milton Keynes conveyancing practitioner is on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel.
I'm purchasing a new build house in Milton Keynes benefiting from help to buy. The sellers would not budge the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The property agent suggested that I not reveal to my lawyer about this deal as it could put at risk my mortgage with Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. Is this normal?.
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.
When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Milton Keynes what are the most frequent lease defects?
Leasehold conveyancing in Milton Keynes is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:
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Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, Leeds Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.
I bought a studio flat in Milton Keynes, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent properties in Milton Keynes with an extended lease are worth £197,000. The ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2081
With just 55 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £31,400 and £36,200 plus costs.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information 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. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.