My wife and I are purchasing a 3 bedroom apartment in Stoke Sub Hamdon with a mortgage. We have a Stoke Sub Hamdon conveyancer, but the lender advise he's not on their "panel". It seems we have little option but to instruct one of the lender panel firms or continue with our Stoke Sub Hamdon lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. We regard this is unjust; are we not able to require that the lender use our Stoke Sub Hamdon conveyancer ?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you 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 Stoke Sub Hamdon conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
I purchased a freehold house in Stoke Sub Hamdon but nevertheless pay rent, why is this and what is this?
It is rare for properties in Stoke Sub Hamdon and has limited impact for conveyancing in Stoke Sub Hamdon but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges have existed for hundreds of years, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the generation of new rentcharges post 1977.
Old rentcharges can now be redeemed by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 is to be dispensed with completely.
My stepmother informed me that in buying a property in Stoke Sub Hamdon there could be a number of restrictions preventing external changes to the property. Is this right?
We are aware of a number of properties in Stoke Sub Hamdon which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Stoke Sub Hamdon should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
I have paid off my mortgage with Coventry BS. I assume I don't need a Stoke Sub Hamdon conveyancer on the Coventry BS panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Coventry BS 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 Coventry BS mortgage from the register. Coventry BS, 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 Coventry BS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Coventry BS has instructed the Land Registry to do so
My offer on a house in Stoke Sub Hamdon has been agreed to, the vendors do nevertheless have a dependent purchase. The sellers have offered on a property, however it’s not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other apartments in the pipeline. I have instructed a high street conveyancing solicitor in Stoke Sub Hamdon. What do I do now? At what stage do I apply for the mortgage with Virgin Money?
It is understandable to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses prematurely (home loan application is in the region of £1k, then valuation, Stoke Sub Hamdon conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you must check that your conveyancer is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. Concerning the next stages this very much dictated by the uniqueness of your case, desire for this property and on the state of the market. In a hot market many purchasers will apply for the mortgage with Virgin Money and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they pay their conveyancer to proceed with the conveyancing in Stoke Sub Hamdon.
I am close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our property in Stoke Sub Hamdon and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was built on contaminated land. Any local lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers used a factory type conveyancing outfit rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Stoke Sub Hamdon. We have lived in Stoke Sub Hamdon for many years we know that this is a non issue. Should we get in touch with our local Authority to obtain confirmation that there is no issue.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing solicitor currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You must check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same sickness)
I'm buying a new build house in Stoke Sub Hamdon with the aid of help to buy. The developers refused to budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The sale representative told me not inform my solicitor about the deal as it would impact my mortgage with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Am I better off to use a Stoke Sub Hamdon conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am hoping to buy? We have a good friend who can perform the legal formalities but they are based over three hundred miles drive away.
The primary upside of using a high street Stoke Sub Hamdon conveyancing practice is that you can attend the office to execute documents, hand in your identification documents and pester them where appropriate. Having local Stoke Sub Hamdon know how is a benefit. However it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust instructed your friend and they were happy that must trump using an unfamiliar Stoke Sub Hamdon conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being Stoke Sub Hamdon based.