We are looking to buy a property and need a conveyancing solicitor in Portsmouth who is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a firm?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Bank of Ireland . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in Portsmouth.
I am selling my apartment in Portsmouth. Will the conveyancer have to be on the Principality conveyancing panel in order to deal with the discharge of my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Principality conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their specifications fairly frequently currently.
Is it the case that all Portsmouth solicitor practices on the RBS conveyancing panel are regulated by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the RBS approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Some mortgage companies do list licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such practice would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
We previously selected conveyancers based in Portsmouth on the Yorkshire BS solicitor panel. They have just billed me a further fee for dealing with the Yorkshire BS mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Yorkshire BS?
Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your solicitor can charge a fee for this. This charge is not set by Yorkshire BS but by your Portsmouth conveyancing practitioner. Numerous firms on the Yorkshire BS panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
I have instructed a Portsmouth lawyer having made sure that they are on the TSB conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
TSB will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually TSB 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 conveyancer 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 Portsmouth postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with TSB, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Portsmouth.
It has been five months since my purchase conveyancing in Portsmouth took place. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
I'm buying my first flat in Portsmouth with the aid of help to buy. The developers refused to reduce the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The property agent suggested that I not to tell my lawyer about this side-deal as it will affect my loan with the lender. Is this normal?.
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 looking for a flat up to £195,000 and found one round the corner in Portsmouth I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 51 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Portsmouth suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will be an issue. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you may request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.