We are selling our apartment in Somerstown. Will the lawyer have to be required to be on the HSBC conveyancing panel in order to deal with the discharge of my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the HSBC conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently currently.
I am assisting my step-mother sell her flat in Somerstown. Does the conveyancing solicitor arrange an energy assessment or should I organise this?
Following the abolition of HIPs, energy performance certificates became a mandatory component of moving house. An energy performance certificate needs to be to hand prior to the property being marketed. It is not a task that solicitors ordinarily organise. Where you are using a Somerstown conveyancing solicitor they might be willing to arrange EPC’s due to their contacts with reputable Somerstown energy assessors
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unseasoned as FTB of a two bedroom flat in Somerstown. Do I collect the keys to the property on the completion date from my conveyancer? If this is the case, I will find a local conveyancing solicitor in Somerstown?
On the day of completion you do not need to attend the conveyancers office in Somerstown. Conveyancing lawyers for you will arrange to send the completion advance to the vendor’s lawyers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be invited to pick up the keys from the selling Agents and move into your new home. Usually this happens between 1 and 3pm.
I have instructed a Somerstown conveyancer having checked that they are on the UBS conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
UBS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually UBS 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 Somerstown postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with UBS, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Somerstown.
I'm buying my first flat in Somerstown with a loan from Halifax. The developers would not budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The sale representative advised me not inform my conveyancer about this extras as it will impact my loan with the lender. Is this normal?.
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've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a property I have offered on a fortnight ago in what should have been a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Somerstown is where the house is located. What do you suggest?
Flying freeholds in Somerstown are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Somerstown you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Somerstown may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.
Are there any apps to help locate a Somerstown solicitor on the Barclays conveyancing panel? I have a car and am willing to travel upto 10kilometers to meet the lawyer.
Feel free to make use of the facility on this website. Please select a lender and your location and you will see a number of Somerstown conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have listed some Somerstown conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can call them to see whether they are on the Barclays panel
My father-in-law has encouraged me to instruct his conveyancing solicitors in Somerstown. Should I use them?
No doubt the ideal way to choose a conveyancing solicitor is to get referrals from friends or family who have actually used the firm you're are thinking of instructing.