I am progressing with the sale of my ground floor flat in Moreton and the EA has just called to advise that the purchasers are changing their law firm. The excuse is that the bank will only work with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a leading mortgage company only deal with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Moreton ?
Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.
Mortgage companies blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
My mortgage company has suggested solicitors on their panel based in Moreton but I would rather use a conveyancing lawyer in Moreton or nearer to where I live. Are you able to assist?
It is by no means the case that all Moreton conveyancing firms are on all banks conveyancing panel. Do make use of the above find an approved solicitor tool to find a Moreton conveyancing firm on the on the bank panel.
I know that there are debates on Chancel Insurance on online forums. Am I compelled to take this when purchasing a house in Moreton? or Apparently there is a law dating back centuries that could mean that homeowners living in a parish church boundary may be liable to contribute towards maintenance to the chancel within the church. Is this a legitimate concern for conveyancing in Moreton?
Unless a prior purchase of the property took place post 12 October 2013 you may expect solicitors delivering conveyancing in Moreton to continue to propose a a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.
I used Arc property Solicitors several years past for my conveyancing in Moreton. I now require my file however the law firm has closed. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Moreton of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in two weeks back in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Moreton is where the house is located. Can you offer any assistance?
Flying freeholds in Moreton are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Moreton you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Moreton may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.
I own a leasehold flat in Moreton. Conveyancing was finalised in 21012. I have read on numerous advice forums that I should not let the lease length get too short. What is the reasoning?
Moreton domestic long term leases are for a prescribed term - normally ninety nine years when they commenced. However many appartments in Moreton were constructed or converted in the 60’s and so such leases now have under eighty years remaining. That may sound like a long time but Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage institutions generally need leases to have a minimum of seventy five years remaining to be mortgageable. Accordingly when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are nearing eighty years. To maximise your property value you should be considering whether or not to extend your lease well in advance of selling the property. Please note that there are significant benefits to taking action before the lease hits eighty years as when the lease falls below 80 years the amount to be paid to extend starts to get a lot more expensive.