I am progressing with the sale of my flat in St Helens and the EA has just text me to say that the buyers are appointing a new conveyancer. The excuse is that the lender will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading mortgage company only engage with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in St Helens ?
Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in the last few years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.
Banks blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
Why is leasehold purchase conveyancing in St Helens costs more?
St Helens leasehold properties involve far more paperwork than a freehold purchase, and therefore takes more time to examine and advise upon.Conveyancing will involve the lease having to be checked which is usually a lengthy document, queries raised to ensure that the covenants and conditions have been observed. If it is a flat there will be a management company in existence and the accounts of this will need to be checked and enquiries raised to ensure it is operating efficiently and that all monies due have been paid by the Seller to the company and if not ensuring that money is paid up to date or the appropriate undertakings obtained.
We decided to purchase a purpose built apartment in St Helens with a homeloan from Nationwide Building Society.We would like to retain our St Helens conveyancing practitioner but Nationwide Building Society says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint a Nationwide Building Society panel firm or retain our high street solicitor and pay for a Nationwide Building Society panel lawyer to act for them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The loan offered to you contains terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers needs to be on the Nationwide Building Society approved list. in the past, most mortgage companies had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could find 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. Another option that might be available is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Nationwide Building Society
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on two weeks back in what should have been a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. St Helens is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in St Helens are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside St Helens you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in St Helens 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.
I'm refinancing my existing house to a buy to let loan with Chelsea Building Society and intend to use the remaining equity towards another house. The area we are talking about is St Helens. Will your solicitors be able to act for both sets of lenders and link together the conveyances?
Make use of our comparison tool on this site to ensure that the lawyers are approved by both mortgage companies. On the basis that they are your conveyancer will be able to tie up the two conveyancing matters but you should talk with you lawyer and make apparent your desired outcome and needs.
What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a St Helens conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a St Helens conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non St Helens conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions could be helpful:
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What are the charges for lease extension work? What volume of lease extensions have they conducted in St Helens in the last twenty four months?
Leasehold Conveyancing in St Helens - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying
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On the whole the cost for major works are not included within service charges, although some managing agents in St Helens require leasehold owners to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major works. Where a St Helens lease has no more than eighty years it will impact the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will probably require a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out how much this will be. For most St Helenslease extensions you will need to own the property for two years in order to be entitled to extend the lease.