My fiance and I are hoping to acquire a home in Sale and are in fact using a Sale conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. TSB have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Sale lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the purchaser's lender. 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 property lawyer should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Sale solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
I am acquiring a newly constructed flat in Sale and my solicitor is informing me that she has to the mortgage company to disclose incentives from the seller. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to exchange contracts and I don't want to delay deal. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your solicitor. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
Can I be sure that the Sale conveyancing solicitor on the Coventry BS panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Sale seeking recommendations is a sensible 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 which is cheap as chips. We would always advise that you speak with the lawyer handling your conveyancing.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Sale off the council. I have a mortgage agreed with HSBC. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with HSBC, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the HSBC conveyancing panel.
Planning on purchasing a maisonette in Sale. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Sale conveyancing practitioner is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel.
I am looking for a flat up to £305k and identified one near me in Sale I like with amenity areas and station nearby, however it only has 51 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Sale suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
If you require a home loan that many years will likely be an issue. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.
What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Sale conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?
If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Sale conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggest that you speak with several firms including non Sale conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions could be useful:
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What are the costs for lease extension work? How many lease extensions have they carried out in Sale in the last twenty four months?
I invested in buying a basement flat in Sale, conveyancing having been completed in 2002. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar flats in Sale with an extended lease are worth £206,000. The ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease expires on 21st October 2091
With just 66 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £11,400 and £13,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.
We are buying a three room apartmentin Sale with a home loan from a mortgage company. We wish to instruct our solicitor in Sale but our mortgage company inform us now that he's not on their "panel". Apparently we need to choose one of the our bank panel firms or stay with our Sale solicitor and incur the extra legals for one of their panel ones to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The mortgage company mortgage issued is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that solicitors will on the bank's conveyancing panel. in the past, most lenders had open panels, including most conveyancing solicitors in Sale : a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your bank.