What happens if my solicitor is expelled from the Barclays Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Shirehampton?
First, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.
Me and my partner are buying a apartment in Shirehampton. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a lawyer? At some point we have to put funds into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our money?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Shirehampton. I have a mortgage offer with RBS. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use 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 RBS, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the RBS conveyancing panel.
I can not work out if my mortgage offer requires a lease extension. I have telephoned my Shirehampton bank branch on various occasions and was told it wasn't a problem and they will lend. My Shirehampton conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- telephoned to say that they refuse to lend based on their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. Who do I believe?
As long as the property lawyer is on the mortgage company panel, she or he must follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook conditions for the bank. 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 opted to have a survey carried out on a property in Shirehampton ahead of appointing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. Our surveyor advised that some mortgage companies tend not grant a loan on this type of property.
It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different instructions from Nationwide. If you call us we can check with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Shirehampton. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Shirehampton to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
I was pointed in your direction by two or three local property agents in Shirehampton to select a conveyancer using your seach tool. Is there a financial inducement for Estate Agents to promote your lawyers over and above a competitor’s?
We refuse to give any commission for directing people our way. We thought it would be too underhand a fee because a client could think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Shirehampton with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Shirehampton can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers. You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale. Some Shirehampton leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Shirehampton state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you fail to have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Shirehampton - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying
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If a Shirehampton lease has no more than eighty years it will affect the salability of the property. It is worth checking with your bank that they are content with the length of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will probably require a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you will be be obliged to have been the owner of the residence for a couple of years in order to be eligible to carry out a lease extension. The majority of Shirehampton leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the building set by the landlord. Should you buy the flat you will have to meet this liability, usually in instalments during the year. This could be anything from a couple of 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, this is usually not a significant sum, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to check it because sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds. Who are the managing agents?
How up-to-date is your search tool for the bank conveyancing panel in Shirehampton? Do the lenders send you an updated list?
Shirehampton law firm practices and firms conducting conveyancing in Shirehampton themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the bank conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from the bank directly.