My wife and I are looking to acquire a home in Sacriston and have appointed a Sacriston conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Lloyds TSB Bank have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Sacriston solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Sacriston lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Our son is in the process of securing a new build apartment in Sacriston with a mortgage from Yorkshire BS. His solicitor has advised him of a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
Do I have to have a meeting at the offices of the solicitor to sign the legal charge? If so, I will choose one who does conveyancing in Sacriston so that I can attend their offices if required.
Most conveyancing panel lawyers for lenders undertake the vast majority of communications via the post, e-mail or over the phone. This enables them to conduct the conveyancing transaction no matter where you live in England or Wales. However you can see if you can still book an appointment to visit conveyancing lawyer if you prefer.
My aunt pointed out to me me that in buying a property in Sacriston there could be various restrictions preventing external changes to the property. Is this right?
There are a number of properties in Sacriston which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external alterations. Part of the conveyancing in Sacriston should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
Are all Sacriston Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Santander conveyancing list of approved practices?
It is true that some banks and building societies now utilise CQS as the kick off point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to remain on their panels.
It is unclear whether my mortgage offer requires a lease extension. I have telephoned my Sacriston bank branch on a couple of occasions and was reassured it wasn't a problem and they will lend. My Sacriston conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they refuse to lend based on their published requirements. Who do I believe?
As long as the conveyancing practitioner is on the bank approved list, they must adhere to the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook provisions for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
I’m about to sell my garden flat in Sacriston. Conveyancing is yet to be initiated, however I have recently received a yearly service charge demand – what should I do?
The sensible thing to do is discharge the service charge as usual as all rents and maintenance charges should be apportioned on completion, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
Sacriston Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before Purchasing
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How much is the annual maintenance fee and ground rent? Does the lease have onerous restrictions? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments?
What type of property do your Sacriston conveyancing estimates relate to?
The quotes supplied are only relevant to standard domestic homes in England & Wales. Where you have any different needs for example industrial or agricultural land or commercial conveyancing in Sacriston do telephone us to consider this further .