My wife and I are purchasing a 2 bedroom apartment in Small Heath with a mortgage. We like our Small Heath lawyer, however the mortgage company advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel firms or keep our Small Heath conveyancer and pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. We regard this is unjust; are we not able to require that the lender use our Small Heath solicitor ?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: 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 Small Heath conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
I sincerely hope you can help me. My Small Heath solicitor is informing me me that he has toorder Small Heath conveyancing searches due to the fact thatthe firm are on the Virgin Moneyapproved lawyer panel. These Small Heath searches cost a lot of money can this be avoided?
You have limited options available to you. As you are obtaining a home loan with a bank your solicitor has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your lender’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to comply with the CML Handbook specifications . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Small Heath conveyancing searches.
I own a freehold property in Small Heath but nevertheless invoiced for rent, why is this and what is this?
It’s unusual for properties in Small Heath and has limited impact for conveyancing in Small Heath but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back hundreds of years, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the generation of new rentcharges post 1977.
Previous rentcharges can now be redeemed by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 will be extinguished.
A relative advised me that if I am buying in Small Heath I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is sometimes included in the estimate for your Small Heath conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out important information about Small Heath around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Small Heath Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Small Heath.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in Small Heath I like with a park and railway links nearby, however it's only got 52 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Small Heath for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you require a home loan the shortness of the lease may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you may request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.
I am looking into buying my first house which is in Small Heath and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Small Heath. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Small Heath area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?
Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Small Heath. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found