I am purchasing a maisonette in Somersham. My Solicitor is not on the lender solicitor panel. Am I still permitted to retain my Somersham conveyancing solicitor even though they are not on the lender panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
One will need to appoint a solicitor to complete the legal work required when you require a loan to purchase your property. The lawyer will conduct all the relevant due diligence on the property, make sure that you will be properly registered as the owner and ensure that all the required mortgage documentation is in place. You can appoint a Somersham conveyancer of your choosing. Nevertheless, where the conveyancing practitioner appointed is not on the lender conveyancing panel supplemental costs will arise as separate legal representation will be required by them. Conveyancing panel applications may be submitted, so where your conveyancer has not previously sought membership they should take the opportunity to apply.
My uncle passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Somersham. The house had a relatively small loan remaining of approximately £8000. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Principality, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
If you intend to re-mortgage then Principality will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Principality conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Principality conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Principality mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
I am assisting my aunt sell her property in Somersham. Does the solicitor commission the energy performance certificate or should I organise this?
After the demise of HIPs, energy performance certificates was retained a required element of selling a house. An EPC needs to be commissioned in advance of the property being put on the market. It is not a task that law firms normally arrange. Where you are instructing a Somersham conveyancing solicitor they may be willing to arrange energy performance certificates given their contacts with reputable Somersham energy assessors
Are all Somersham Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Lloyds conveyancing panel?
Some major banks and building societies now utilise the accreditation scheme as the kick off point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to remain on their panels.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Somersham lawyer having made sure that they are on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Aldermore will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Aldermore will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your conveyancer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Somersham postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Aldermore, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Somersham.
My friend advised me that if I am buying in Somersham I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Somersham conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Somersham around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Somersham Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Somersham Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Somersham.
I'm buying my first flat in Somersham benefiting from help to buy. The developers would not budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The sale representative suggested that I not to tell my lawyer about this side-deal as it may adversely affect my mortgage with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I opted to have a survey done on a house in Somersham prior to retaining solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. My surveyor advised that some lenders may refuse to issue a mortgage on this type of home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements for example to Birmingham Midshires. If you contact us we can check via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Somersham. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Somersham to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.