Me and my fiance are purchasing a 2 bedroom apartment in St Clears with a mortgage. We have a St Clears solicitor, however the lender advise he's not on their "panel". It seems we have little option but to instruct one of the lender panel conveyancing practices or continue with our St Clears solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to act for 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 St Clears conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Our conveyancer has uncovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the flat we are purchasing in St Clears. The other side have put forward defective title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our property lawyer says that he must check that the lender is content with this solution. Are we the client or is the lender?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the lender are the client. Your solicitor must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the bank can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your conveyancer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
A friend recommended that if I am purchasing in St Clears I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is occasionally included in the estimate for your St Clears conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out significant information about St Clears around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the St Clears Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding St Clears.
2 months have elapsed following my purchase conveyancing in St Clears concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the property from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
In what way can the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 impact my business premises in St Clears and how can you help?
The particular law that you refer to provides security of tenure to business lessees, granting the right to make a request to court for a renewal tenancy and remain in occupation when the lease reaches an end. There are certain specified grounds where a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are complicated. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. St Clears is one of our many locations in which the firms we work with are located
Are there any specific advantages to using a local conveyancing practitioner in St Clears
A significant proportion of house movers in St Clears choose a nearby high street lawyer so that they can pop into the firm’s offices if they have questions, and to deliver documents without using the post.
One could suggest that there is a marginal advantage in using a lawyer nearby to a house you are buying, due to the in-depth knowledge of the region and possible local issues - nevertheless this is moot. Many conveyancers are now over the internet and could be almost anywhere.