I am selling my home in Purfleet and the estate agent has just e-mailed to advise that the buyers are swapping law firm. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading lender only deal with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Purfleet ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for many years.
Lenders blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
We are selling our flat in Purfleet. Will the conveyancing practitioner need to be required to be on the Nottingham conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Nottingham 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 panel criteria fairly frequently at the moment.
Me and my partner are purchasing a flat in Purfleet. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a lawyer? At some point we will need to deposit funds into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our deposit?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
How can we know in advance if a Purfleet conveyancing solicitor on the Lloyds panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Purfleet seeking recommendations is a good start. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one advertising the lowest fees. We would always recommend that you speak with the solicitor carrying out your conveyancing.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Virgin Money. I assume I don't need a Purfleet conveyancer on the Virgin Money panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Virgin Money mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Virgin Money mortgage from the register. Virgin Money, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Virgin Money has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Virgin Money has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I'm converting the mortgage on my current home to a buy to let mortgage with National Westminster Bank and intend to use the remaining equity as a deposit on another property. The location we are talking about is Purfleet. Will your lawyers be able to act for the two lenders and link together the conveyances?
Make use of our search tool on this site to be sure that the conveyancers are approved by both lenders. On the basis that they are your lawyer should be able to connect the two conveyancing matters but you should have a chat with you solicitor and make apparent your expectations and needs.
My husband and I are 14 days into a freehold purchase having been recommend to a firm by the estate agent to handle our conveyancing in Purfleet. I am am very dissatisfied with the level of service. Could you help me find new lawyers?
A lawyer would need to be really bad in order to consider replacing them. Has the loan offer been sent? If so you need to advise them of the new contact details and get the mortgage documents are re-issued. Your solicitor ideally should be on the mortgage company panel to avoid escalating costs and complications. That should be your starting point. The find a solicitor tool will assist you in finding a bank approved lawyer for your home move in Purfleet
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Purfleet both have in the region of 50 years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?
There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Purfleet is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the property. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Purfleet conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.
I inherited a first flat in Purfleet. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount due for a lease extension?
Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the price payable.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Purfleet property is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case was in relation to 13 flats. The unexpired lease term was 76 years.