I am progressing with the sale of my apartment in North Baddesley and the EA has just called to warn that the purchasers are changing their law firm. I am told that this is due to the fact that the mortgage company will only work with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major lender only work with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in North Baddesley ?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for over 25 years.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the pruning – 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 are unaware that 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 unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
My husband and I changing mortgage lender for our maisonette in North Baddesley with TSB. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 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 flat is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the TSB conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your TSB conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing 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 TSB. This is solely used to protect TSB 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 TSB 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.
Will our conveyancer be making enquiries concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in North Baddesley.
Flooding is a growing risk for lawyers carrying out conveyancing in North Baddesley. Plenty of people will buy a house in North Baddesley, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Solicitors are not best placed to impart advice on flood risk, however there are a numerous checks that can be undertaken by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which will give them a better understanding of the risks in North Baddesley. The standard completed inquiry forms sent to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a usual question of the seller to discover if the property has suffered from flooding. In the event that the residence has been flooded in past and is not notified by the seller, then a buyer may issue a claim for damages as a result of such an misleading reply. A buyer’s lawyers will also carry out an environmental report. This should indicate whether there is any known flood risk. If so, further inquiries should be carried out.
How does conveyancing in North Baddesley differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in North Baddesley approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is constructed. This is because developers in North Baddesley usually 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in North Baddesley or who has acted in the same development.
Do I need to be wary by estate agents that I am dealing with are recommending a nationwide conveyancing firm as opposed to a local North Baddesley conveyancing practice?
As is the case with many professional services, often suggestions from connections can be worth their weight in gold. Yet there are numerous people with a vested interest in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, mortgage brokers and lenders may recommend conveyancers to retain. On occasion the solicitors might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but sometimes there behind the scenes commercial relationship behind the endorsement. You are free to appoint your own conveyancer. However, bear in mind that the majority of lenders specify a panel list of law firms you have to use for the lender aspect of your home move.
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in North Baddesley with the intention of speeding up the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in North Baddesley can be avoided if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers. If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? North Baddesley leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you fail to have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand. If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a new share certificate is often a lengthy process and delays many a North Baddesley home move. If a reissued share certificate is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later. You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale. If there is a history of 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 a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
I own a ground floor flat in North Baddesley, conveyancing having been completed in 2009. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable flats in North Baddesley with over 90 years remaining are worth £186,000. The ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2078
With 52 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £29,500 and £34,000 plus legals.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed 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 clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.