I have just been advised by my mortgage adviser that my St Margarets property lawyer is not on the bank Solicitor panel. What can I do to be certain whether this is indeed the case?
The first thing you need to do is to contact your St Margarets lawyer directly. You lawyer should notify you what has happened. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the conveyancing panel for your mortgage company.
Can conveyancing in St Margarets to be finalised in less than 28 days?
Where you are under a tight deadline to exchange it is advisable to make sure that your solicitor is familiar with the location as they will benefit local relationships and insight. It is even conceivable that they may have handled otherhomes in the same road. You would be best advised to use a St Margarets conveyancing firm. In addition, ensure that the lawyer is on the on the approved list for your mortgage company. It is said that nearly one in five of St Margarets conveyancing transactions are delayed or derailed after discovering a purchaser’s lawyer was not on their mortgage lender’s member panel. This can often result in the home move being delayed by almost three weeks. It is claimed that this issue affects in the region of one hundred thousand home moves annually. Almost all St Margarets conveyancing firms can not represent certain mortgage companies so do check at the outset.
My flat in St Margarets is up for sale and I have a buyer. Will the solicitor have to be on the Barclays conveyancing panel in order to deal with the discharge of my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Barclays conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their conditions fairly frequently currently.
Is it the case that all St Margarets solicitors on the Skipton conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Skipton approved list of solicitors they would need to be overseen by the SRA. Some banks do list licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be governed by the CLC.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Bank of Ireland. I assume I don't need a St Margarets conveyancer on the Bank of Ireland panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Bank of Ireland mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Bank of Ireland mortgage from the register. Bank of Ireland, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Bank of Ireland has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Bank of Ireland has instructed the Land Registry to do so
Intending to buy a apartment in St Margarets. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the RBS conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the St Margarets solicitor is on the RBS conveyancing panel.
I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing solicitor in St Margarets for my home move. Is it possible to check a firm’s complaints history with the legal regulator?
Members of the public can review presented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations arising from inquisitions from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. To find details Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors history, phone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For non-uk callers, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may monitor call for training requirements.
My wife and I may need to sub-let our St Margarets 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a St Margarets conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?
A small minority of properties in St Margarets do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.
I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can a leaseholder apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a St Margarets conveyancing firm to represent me?
in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the price.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a St Margarets flat is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 60.45 years.