Me and my fiance are buying a 2 bedroom apartment in Newtown with a mortgage. We have a Newtown lawyer, but the lender says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel conveyancing practices or keep our Newtown lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. We feel that this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you 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. Another option that might be available is for your Newtown conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
We note that you have a search directory listing firms on the Barclays conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a referral fee if I instruct them for our conveyancing in Newtown?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Barclays conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Newtown.
This question may be naive but I am new to the house moving as FTB of a garden flat in Newtown. Do I collect the keys to the property on completion from my lawyer? If so, I will instruct a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Newtown?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the purchase money to the seller's solicitors, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you should be invited to receive the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.
Is it correct that all Newtown CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Aldermore conveyancing list of approved solicitors?
Some major lenders now utilise CQS as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to join their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
At last I have had an offer on a maisonette in Newtown agreed to, the sellers do however have a connected purchase. The owners have placed an offer on on an apartment, however it’s not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other properties booked. I have instructed a nearby conveyancing solicitor in Newtown. What should be my next step? At what stage should I apply for the mortgage with Co-operative?
It is understandable to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is in the region of £1k, then survey, Newtown conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you should check that your conveyancer is on the Co-operative approved list. Concerning the subsequent stages this very much depends on the uniqueness of your case, motivation for this property and on the state of the market. In a buoyant market many purchasers will apply for a home loan with Co-operative and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they ask their conveyancing practitioner to move forward with searches.
I'm buying a new build house in Newtown with the aid of help to buy. The builders would not budge the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The house builders rep told me not to tell my lawyer about this deal as it could impact my mortgage with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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.
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Newtown both have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. should I be concerned?
There are plenty of short leases in Newtown. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease deteriorates and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area.
I bought a ground floor flat in Newtown, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2002. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Newtown with a long lease are worth £265,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2101
With just 76 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 plus professional fees.
The suggested premium range 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 detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. 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. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.
I need to find a mortgage company panel solicitor in Newtown. Can you assist?
It is not clear why you need a Newtown panel solicitor but in any event, if you can not find one on our search tool you will need to speak directly to the bank to find out which solicitors in Newtown are on their panel . If you do find such a firm in Newtown not listed please direct them to our site to list. After all the cost is only one £1 a month