I am in the process of selling my maisonette in Shenfield and the estate agent has just called to say that the purchasers are changing their law firm. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only engage with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a leading lender only deal with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Shenfield ?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.
Banks point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
My fiance and I are refinancing our flat in Shenfield with Co-operative. We have a son 18 who lives with us. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the apartment is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this form unique to the Co-operative conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this extinguish his entitlement to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Co-operative conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Co-operative. This is solely used to protect Co-operative if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Co-operative had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
As a FTB what is the most important number one tip you can give me about purchase conveyancing in Shenfield?
Not many law firms or advisers will tell you this but conveyancing in Shenfield and elsewhere in Essex is often a confrontational process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists lots of opportunity for friction between you and other parties involved in the home moving process. For example, the seller, property agent and even potentially a lender. Choosing a solicitor for your conveyancing in Shenfield an important selection as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE party in the process whose role it is to protect your legal interests and to protect you.
On occasion a third party with a vested interest may try and persuade you that you should follow their advice. For instance, the estate agent may claim to be assisting by claiming that your solicitor is dragging his heels. Or your mortgage broker may tell you to do take action that is contrary to your lawyers guidance. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties when it comes to the legal transfer of property.
Should our lawyer be asking questions concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Shenfield.
Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers dealing with homes in Shenfield. There are those who purchase a property in Shenfield, fully aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical destruction, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or dispose of the premises. Steps can be carried out during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Conveyancers are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, however there are a numerous checks that may be initiated by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which will figure out the risks in Shenfield. The standard information given to a buyer’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a standard question of the vendor to discover whether the premises has suffered from flooding. In the event that the property has been flooded in past which is not revealed by the owner, then a buyer may issue a claim for damages as a result of such an inaccurate answer. The purchaser’s conveyancers will also commission an environmental search. This will indicate if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, more detailed investigations will need to be conducted.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £235,500 and identified one near me in Shenfield I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 49 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Shenfield for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
Should you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you may ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.
I'm refinancing my existing property to a BTL mortgage with Bank of Ireland and intend to use the remaining equity as a deposit on further property. The area we are interested in is Shenfield. Will your lawyers be able to act for the two banks and tie in the transactions?
Make use of our search tool on this page to ensure that the lawyers are approved by both banks. On the basis that they are the conveyancer should be able to simultaneously deal with the two transactions but you should have a chat with you solicitor and make apparent your expectations and needs.