Me and my fiance are buying a 3 bedroom apartment in Southwater with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Southwater solicitor, however the bank advise he's not on their "panel". It appears that we have little choice but to appoint one of the mortgage company panel solicitors or keep our Southwater property lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to represent them. We regard this is inequitable; are we not able to demand that the mortgage company use our Southwater 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 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 Southwater conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
I have been referred to a conveyancing solicitor in Southwater. I I am struggling to find out whether they are accepted on the Chelsea Building Society conveyancing panel. Can you assist?
You should call the lawyer and ask them if they are on the lender panel. Alternatively you can call Chelsea Building Society who may be able to assist.
Me and my brother have a semi-detached Victorian property in Southwater. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Bank of Scotland. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the matching address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Southwater and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the situation with the conveyancing solicitor who completed the work.
I am buying a new build house in Southwater with a loan from Skipton Building Society. The sellers would not reduce the amount so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The sale representative told me not reveal to my lawyer about the extras as it would impact my loan with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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 am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and identified one near me in Southwater I like with amenity areas and transport links nearby, however it only has 61 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Southwater suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?
Should you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be an issue. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.
Is there a distinction between surveying and conveyancing in Southwater?
Conveyancing - in Southwater or elsewhere - is the legal term given to transferring legal title of property from one person to another. It therefore includes the checking of the title. Whether buying or selling, you should be aware of anything affecting the property such as proposals by government departments, illegal buildings, or outstanding rates. The conveyancer should conduct the appropriate searches and inquiries on the property. Surveying relates to the structure of a property itself. A surveyor will look at a house, flat and any outbuildings you’re purchasing and will help you find out about the condition of the building and, if there are problems, give you a powerful reason for negotiating the purchase price down or asking the vendor to fix the defects before you move in.