My husband and I are purchasing a 3 bedroom flat in Norbury with a mortgage. We like our Norbury conveyancer, but the mortgage company says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel solicitors or retain our Norbury solicitor and pay for one of their panel lawyers to represent them. We regard this is unjust; are we not able to demand that the mortgage company use our Norbury solicitor ?
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. Another option that might be available is for your Norbury conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Can I use your services to find a Conveyancing solicitor in Norbury even if I’m not buying or disposing of a house, for example where I wish to buy a shop in Norbury with a loan from Halifax?
Our comparison service is mainly used to locate residential conveyancing solicitors in Norbury but we have listed towards the end of this page some Norbury commercial conveyancing firms. You will need to enquire with the firm directly to establish if they can also act for Halifax
My aunt passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Norbury. The house had a small mortgage left on it of around £5k. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Co-operative, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
Where you intend to refinance then Co-operative will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Co-operative conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Co-operative mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
Do I select a Licenced Conveyancer or Solicitor for conveyancing in Norbury?
There are many registered licenced Conveyancers in Norbury and Solicitor partnerships in Norbury offering conveyancing It is important to make clear that the two are regulated professionals specialising in the legal aspects of transferring property. Both can conduct other property legal work such as remortgage conveyancing, lease extensions and transfer of equity conveyancing.
My wife and I are in the throws of viewing apartments in Norbury and I am about to put in an offer. Should I already have a conveyancer in place at this point? I will be getting a mortgage with Nationwide.
You should start obtaining conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their contact information on to the selling agent. As you are taking out a mortgage with Nationwide, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Nationwide conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Norbury lawyer having checked that they are on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Co-operative will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Co-operative will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your solicitor will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Norbury postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Co-operative, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Norbury.
Is it best to instruct a Norbury conveyancing solicitor based in the location that I am purchasing? I have an old university friend who can perform the conveyancing but his firm is located over three hundred kilometers drive away.
The benefit of a local Norbury conveyancing firm is that you can attend the office to sign paperwork, present your ID and pester them where appropriate. Having local Norbury know how is a benefit. That being said it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If if people you trust instructed your friend and they were happy that should outweigh using an unknown Norbury conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being local.
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Norbury with the intention of expediting the sale process?
- Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Norbury can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers’ solicitors. Some Norbury leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers. The majority of freeholders or Management Companies in Norbury levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold home. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Norbury. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a Norbury home move. Where a new share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity. If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
I am the leaseholder of a first floor flat in Norbury. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum due for the purchase of the freehold?
Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Norbury conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Norbury property is Flat 12, Newlands Court Streatham Common North in May 2012. the decision of the Tribunal was that the premium payable by the Applicants to the Respondent for the new lease of the Premises be £70,140. This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 23.25 years.