Much to our surprise we have been advised by our lender that my Saxmundham lawyer is not on the mortgage company Solicitor panel. How can I check?
The first thing you need to do is to contact your Saxmundham lawyer directly. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to advise you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the approved list of lawyers for your mortgage company.
Due to complete my purchase in Saxmundham next Tuesday. I have now been asked to send a copy of my building insurance schedule by my solicitor as he says that he has to check this in his capacity as lawyer for the bank. What risks does the lender expect the insurance to cover?
All property lawyers on acting for banks would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in a lender’s Part 2 conditions. These obligations are not unique to conveyancing in Saxmundham.
Is it correct that all Saxmundham CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Nationwide conveyancing list of approved firms?
Some major banks and building societies now make use of CQS as the kick off point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to join their panels.
When it comes to lenders such as Leeds Building Society, do Saxmundham lawyers have to pay an annual charge to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are unaware of any mortgage company fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in Saxmundham. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £225. A few days later, the conveyancer called me to say that they were not on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Co-operative panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
I was advised by numerous property agents in Saxmundham to locate a property lawyer on your site. Is there a financial incentive for Estate Agents to offer your services ahead of a competitor’s?
We don’t offer any financial incentive for sending work our way. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission as home movers will think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.
I work for a busy estate agency in Saxmundham where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Saxmundham conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Saxmundham - A selection of Queries before buying
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You should want to find out as much as you can about the company managing the block as they can either make life much simpler or problematic. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day issues such as the cleanliness of the communal areas. Don't be shy to ask prospective neighbours what they think of their service. On a final note, be sure you understand the dates that the service fees are due to the managing agents and precisely what you get for your money. The majority of Saxmundham leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the block levied on behalf of the landlord. Should you acquire the flat you will have to meet this contribution, usually periodically accross the year. This may be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a ground rent to be met yearly, this is usually not a significant sum, say about £50-£100 but you need to check it because sometimes it can be prohibitively expensive.
My lawyers in Saxmundham have advised me that no longer have my conveyancing file. At the time of my purchase I took out a mortgage with the bank. Is it case that being on the mortgage company conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a number of years?
It very much depends from lender to lender but many of the Terms and Conditions of Conveyancing Panel Appointment require the file to be held for a period of 6 years. That being said we have not seen a copy of the bank Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting the bank directly.