Me and my partner are buying a 3 bedroom flat in Mosborough with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Mosborough lawyer, but the bank advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel firms or retain our Mosborough property lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to represent them. This feels very unfair; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders 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. A further alternative is for your Mosborough conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
I am in a contract race with another buyer for a property in Mosborough. What can be done to accelerate the conveyancing process?
First, If the seller is applying pressure for your conveyancing we would recommend that your solicitor is familiar with the location as they will make use of local relationships and intelligence. It is even conceivable that they would have conducted previoushouses in the same street. You would be best advised to use a Mosborough conveyancing lawyer. In addition, check that the conveyancing firm is on the on the approved list for your mortgage company. It is estimated that just under twenty per cent of Mosborough conveyancing transactions are held up or jeopardised after discovering a buyer’s conveyancer was not on their mortgage lender’s member panel. This can often result in the home move being held up by almost 21 days. It is estimated that this issue affects approximately one hundred thousand home moves every year. Many Mosborough conveyancing firms can not represent certain mortgage companies so do check as early as possible.
We're in Mosborough, FTBs buying with a mortgage (lender is Skipton , and our solicitor is on the Skipton conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Skipton conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no property lawyer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
My colleague recommended that if I am buying in Mosborough I should ask my conveyancer to perform a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is occasionally included in the estimate for your Mosborough conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out significant information about Mosborough around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Mosborough Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information regarding Mosborough.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I have offered on last month in what should have been a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Mosborough is the location of the property. Is there any advice you can give?
Flying freeholds in Mosborough are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Mosborough you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Mosborough may decide 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 property.
I've recently bought a leasehold house in Mosborough. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I bought a 1 bedroom flat in Mosborough, conveyancing formalities finalised May 2010. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Mosborough with over 90 years remaining are worth £216,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2095
With only 69 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as costs.
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. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional 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 based on this information before getting professional advice.