Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my solicitor in Swansea East is not on my mortgage company's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the standard of the firm’s work?
It would not be wise to jump to that conclusion. There are all sorts of perfectly reasonable explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator revealed 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The most common reasons for removal are: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Should you be concerned you should simply call the Swansea East conveyancing practice and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your lender.
After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Swansea East. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £225. A few days later, the lawyer called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Principality conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Principality panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
I was told two weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Bank of Ireland. Is it usual for Bank of Ireland to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Swansea East is approved on their conveyancing panel? Bank of Ireland have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their PI Insurance.
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Bank of Ireland to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Our offer on a house in Swansea East has been accepted, the owners do nevertheless have a connected purchase. The owners have put an offer on a flat, however it’s not yet agreed to, and have viewings of other properties in the pipeline. I have chosen a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in Swansea East. What should be my next step? When do I get the mortgage application with HSBC started?
It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (home loan application is in the region of one thousand pounds, then survey, Swansea East conveyancing search costs, etc). First, you must check that your lawyer is on the HSBC approved list. As to the subsequent steps this very much depends on the circumstances of your transaction, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. In a buoyant market many home buyers will apply for the mortgage with HSBC and pay for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they pay their solicitor to move forward with the conveyancing in Swansea East.
I used Wolstenholmes a few years ago for my conveyancing in Swansea East. I now require my papers but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Swansea East of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I'm buying my first flat in Swansea East with a mortgage from Barclays . The sellers refused to move on the amount so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent suggested that I not disclose to my solicitor about this deal as it could jeopardize my loan with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.
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.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a quick, no chain conveyancing. Swansea East is the location of the property. Can you offer any guidance?
Flying freeholds in Swansea East are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Swansea East 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 Swansea East 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.
What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Swansea East conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Swansea East conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggest that you talk with two or three firms including non Swansea East conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions could be of use:
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What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing? If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
I purchased a 1 bedroom flat in Swansea East, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar flats in Swansea East with over 90 years remaining are worth £186,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2079
You have 53 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £27,600 and £31,800 plus costs.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.