I am one month into the sale of my flat in St Mawes and the estate agent has just telephoned to advise that the purchasers are swapping solicitor. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a major mortgage company only engage with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in St Mawes ?
Banks have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the last few years big names such as HSBC, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.
Lenders blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
I am looking to buy a flat and require a conveyancing solicitor in St Mawes who is on the Leeds Building Society approved. Can you recommend a local conveyancing firm?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Leeds Building Society in certain locations such as St Mawes. We dont recommend any particular firm.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in two weeks back in what should have been a simple, chain free conveyancing. St Mawes is where the house is located. Is there any advice you can give?
Flying freeholds in St Mawes are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside St Mawes you must be sure that your lawyer goes 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 Mawes may ascertain 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.
My husband and I are novice buyers - agreed a price, yet the selling agent advised that the vendor will only issue a contract if we instruct their recommended lawyers as they need a ‘quick sale’. We would rather use a local solicitor accustomed to conveyancing in St Mawes
It is highly unlikely the sellers are driving this. If they desire ‘a quick sale', alienating a motivated buyer is not the way to achieve this. Avoid the agents and go straight to the sellers and explain that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you are unencumbered (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you intend to appoint your preferred St Mawes conveyancing solicitors - not the ones that will provide the negotiator at the agency a referral fee or achieve conveyancing targets demanded by senior management.
I own a leasehold house in St Mawes. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in St Mawes who previously acted has long since retired. Do I pay?
First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a St Mawes conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
I acquired a split level flat in St Mawes, conveyancing having been completed in 2011. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding flats in St Mawes with a long lease are worth £201,000. The ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease expires on 21st October 2091
With 65 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £13,300 and £15,400 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.
Is there a reason that St Mawes conveyancing charges are more expensive for leasehold and freehold properties?
When acquiring a leasehold property there is more work involved purely due to the fact that usually there are further parties involved in the form of the freeholder and/or Management Agents. As part of a lawyers enquiries they will check that all ground rent and service charges are paid up to date amongst other general leasehold matters. For this reason, the Sellers lawyers usually have to refer to the freeholder or Managing Agent for their replies to our questions. This may be time consuming and beyond the lawyers control