My Solicitor in St Anns is not on the Aldermore Approved Panel. Is it possible for me to use my family solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the Aldermore panel?
Your options are as follows:
- Carry on with your existing St Anns solicitors but Aldermore will need to use a solicitor on their list of acceptable firms. This will inevitably rack up the total conveyancing fees as well as cause delays.
- Find an alternative solicitor to act in the conveyancing, obviously checking they are on the Aldermore panel
My solicitor has informed me that lack of building regulations insurance is needed on my purchase. What is the level of cover for St Anns conveyancing?
The right level of lack of building regulations indemnity insurance should be dictated by who your lender. It would differ for example between HSBC Bank and Barnsley Building Society. Conveyancing lawyers as opposed to borrowers take out such policies.
We previously selected conveyancing lawyers locally in St Anns on the Nationwide solicitor approved list. They are now charging me an additional amount for dealing with the Nationwide mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Nationwide?
As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your lawyer can charge a fee for this. This fee is not dictated by Nationwide but by your St Anns conveyancing practitioner. Plenty of firms on the Nationwide panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
My husband and I have arranged the release of further funds on our mortgage from Principality as we wish to conduct a loft conversion to our property in St Anns. Do we need to appoint a bricks and mortar St Anns solicitor on the Principality conveyancing panel to handle the legals?
Principality don't usually require a member of their approved list of lawyers to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Principality panel.
I purchased a 4 bedroom Edwardian property in St Anns. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Nottingham Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the matching address. Is it worth asking Nottingham Building Society to clarify?
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be 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 St Anns and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also enquire as to the situation with the conveyancing solicitor who completed the work.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I have offered on last month in what was supposed to be a quick, no chain conveyancing. St Anns is the location of the property. Can you offer any guidance?
Flying freeholds in St Anns are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in St Anns you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in St Anns 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 property.
I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing practitioner in St Anns for my sale. Can I check a firm’s complaints history with the profession’s regulator?
One may see published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations resulting from investigations from 2008 onwards. Go to Check a solicitor's record. For records Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors record, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. International callers, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator could recorded call for training requirements.
Why do St Anns conveyancing fees differ for leasehold and freehold properties?
Inevitably there is increased work necessary for leasehold conveyancing. St Anns has many leasehold properties. There is more time involved in the purchase: for example, the lease and leasehold information (including up to date service charge, ground rent and buildings insurance details) obtained from the freeholder or managing agents. There are strict criteria that the lease must meet in order to be acceptable to a mortgage company. If it does not meet these requirements, the lease must be amended, which can involve additional expense for the seller.