My solicitor has uncovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the flat we are purchasing in Rowen. The other side have offered title insurance as a solution. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our lawyer says that he must be satisfied that the lender is willing to move forward with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the bank?
Notwithstanding that you have a mortgage offer from the bank does not mean to say that the property will meet their specifications for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. You and the mortgage company are the client. These conveyancing instructions must be adhered to.
What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Rowen? What am I being asked for?
You are right in the requirement set out by your lawyer has nothing to do with conveyancing in Rowen. However these days you can not proceed with any conveyancing transaction if you have not handing over proof of your identity. Ordinarily this takes the form of a either your passport or driving licence as well as a council tax bill. Remember if you are providing your driving licence as evidence of identification it must be both the paper section and photo card part, one is not acceptable without the other.
Proof of your origin of funds is necessary under Money Laundering Regulations. Don’t be offended when you are asked to produce this as your conveyancer will need to have this information on record. Your Rowen conveyancing practitioner will require evidence of proof of funds prior to accepting any funds from you into their client account and they should also ask further questions regarding the source of monies.
My Solicitor in Rowen is not on the The Mortgage Works Approved Panel. Is it possible for me to use my prefered solicitor even though they are excluded from the The Mortgage Works panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
The limited options open to you here include:
- Complete the purchase with your preferred Rowen lawyers but The Mortgage Works will need to use a conveyancer on their list of acceptable firms. This will inevitably rack up the total legal charges as well as cause frustration.
- Get an alternative practitioner to to deal with the purchase, not forgetting to check they are The Mortgage Works approved.
- Try to convince your The Mortgage Works solicitor to try to join the The Mortgage Works panel
How does conveyancing in Rowen differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Rowen come to us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is finished. This is because new home sellers in Rowen usually acquire 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 conveyancers 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 Rowen or who has acted in the same development.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Rowen ahead of instructing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. The surveyor has said that some mortgage companies will refuse to issue a loan on a flying freehold house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. If you call us we can investigate further with the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Rowen. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Rowen especially if they are accustomed to such properties in Rowen.
I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Rowen. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed, however I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?
It best that you clear the invoice as usual because all ground rent and maintenance payments will be allotted as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.
Rowen Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to buying
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How many years are left on the lease? Many Rowen leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the block invoiced on behalf of the management company. If you acquire the apartment you will have to pay this charge, normally periodically during the year. This may differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent for you to pay annual, normally this is not a exorbitant amount, say around £25-£75 but you need to check it because sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. Is there a share of the freehold?