Me and my partner are intending to purchase a 1 bedroom flat in Southborough with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Southborough lawyer, but the lender advise he's not on their "panel". It appears that we have no choice but to appoint one of the bank panel firms or keep our Southborough property lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’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 Southborough conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My wife and I are refinancing our penthouse in Southborough with Barclays. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have two concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Barclays conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 5 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Barclays 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 Barclays. This is solely used to protect Barclays 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 Barclays 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.
Will our solicitor be raising questions concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Southborough.
Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors dealing with homes in Southborough. Some people will buy a house in Southborough, fully aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Conveyancers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a number of searches that may be initiated by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which can give them a better understanding of the risks in Southborough. The standard completed inquiry forms given to a buyer’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a usual inquiry of the owner to determine if the property has historically flooded. If the property has been flooded in past which is not disclosed by the owner, then a purchaser may issue a claim for damages resulting from an incorrect reply. The buyer’s conveyancers will also order an environmental report. This will higlight if there is any known flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries will need to be carried out.
I opted to have a survey completed on a house in Southborough before appointing lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the house. Our surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will refuse to grant a mortgage on a flying freehold premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. If you call us we can investigate further via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Southborough. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
I have been sourcing a conveyancing lawyer in Southborough for my house move. Is it possible to see a solicitor's complaints history with the legal regulator?
Members of the public may read published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations resulting from investigations from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For details Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors record, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. International callers, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA sometimes recorded telephone calls for training requirements.
Would local authority consent be necessary to convert a single dwelling into a couple of appartments in Southborough? This has occurred to a house adjacent to my home in Southborough and was ignorant of it happening until it was finished.
Planning Consent yes. Building Regulations yes.