I am acquiring a ground floor flat in Minera. My property lawyer is not listed on the mortgage company solicitor list. Can I still appoint my Minera conveyancing solicitor even though they are not on the mortgage company list of approved lawyers?
You have a couple of choices open to you here
- Proceed with your preferred Minera lawyer but your mortgage company will no doubt retain a solicitor from their approved list. This will result in additional fees together with probable delay.
- Get a fresh conveyancer to act in the purchase, obviously checking they are on the bank conveyancing panel.
- Appeal to your solicitor to attempt to join the bank panel
My partner and I swapping mortgage lender for our penthouse in Minera with Skipton. We have a son approaching twenty who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the apartment is forfeited by the lender. I have two concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Skipton conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 4 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Skipton. This is solely used to protect Skipton if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Skipton had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
My fiance and I are purchasing a newbuild apartment in Minera with a loan from Norwich and Peterborough Building Society.We have a Minera conveyancing lawyer but Norwich and Peterborough Building Society says his firm is not on their approved list of member firms. We have to appoint a Norwich and Peterborough Building Society panel lawyer or keep our preferred solicitor and fork out for a Norwich and Peterborough Building Society panel lawyer to represent them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that Norwich and Peterborough Building Society use our lawyer?
Unfortunately,no. The home loan issued to you is subject to its various provisions, one of which will be that lawyers will be on the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society conveyancing panel. in the past, most lenders had large numbers of solicitors 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 Norwich and Peterborough Building Society
How does conveyancing in Minera differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Minera contact us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is constructed. This is because house builders in Minera typically purchase 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 property lawyers 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 Minera or who has acted in the same development.
We're first time buyers - had an offer accepted, but the estate agent advised that the seller will only proceed if we appoint the agent's chosen lawyers as they need an ‘expedited deal’. Our preferred option is to instruct a local conveyancer who is familiar with conveyancing in Minera
It is highly unlikely the vendors are behind this. Should the seller want ‘a quick sale', turning down a genuine buyer is is going to put the whole deal at risk. Try to communicate with the owners directly and explain that (a)you are serious purchasers (b)you are ready to go, with mortgage lined up © you have nothing to sell (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you are going to use your preferred Minera conveyancing firm - as opposed tothe ones that will earn the estate agent a referral fee or hit his conveyancing thresholds pre-set by HQ.
What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Minera conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Minera conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with several firms including non Minera conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions might be useful:
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What volume of lease extensions has the firm conducted in Minera in the last twenty four months?
I acquired a studio flat in Minera, conveyancing having been completed November 2008. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Minera with over 90 years remaining are worth £180,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2085
With 59 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.