My fiance and I are planning to acquire a property in Syston and have appointed a Syston conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Lloyds TSB Bank have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Syston lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Syston lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
My husband and I swapping mortgage lender for our apartment in Syston with Santander. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Santander conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 5 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Santander. This is solely used to protect Santander if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Santander had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
Do commercial conveyancing searches reveal planned roadworks that could affect a commercial land in Syston?
Many commercial conveyancing solicitors in Syston will order a SiteSolutions Highways report as it dramatically cuts the time that conveyancers expend in researching accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Syston. The search result provides definitive information on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Syston.
For each commercial conveyancing transaction in Syston it is critical to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been addressed adequately may result in delays to Syston commercial conveyancing deals as well as present a risk to future plans for the site. These searches are not carried out for domestic conveyancing in Syston.
How does conveyancing in Syston differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Syston contact us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is finished. This is because house builders in Syston usually acquire the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Syston or who has acted in the same development.
I own a leasehold house in Syston. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Syston who acted for me is not around. Do I pay?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Syston conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
I am the registered owner of a ground floor flat in Syston, conveyancing having been completed October 2012. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Syston with over 90 years remaining are worth £202,000. The ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2082
You have 56 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £29,500 and £34,000 as well as costs.
The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. 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. Please do not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.
My friend mentioned that before selecting a conveyancing firm they need approved by your bank. This is my first house move but I have an AIP from Nat West Bank and I already have a bricks and morter conveyancing solicitor in Syston on standby. Will Santander insist on an approved solicitor to be selected? Does a directory of approved solicitors even exist so I can appoint a conveyancing solicitor in Syston?
You need to instruct a solicitor that is on the Santander panel. Just telephone your preferred Syston conveyancing lawyer to check if they are on the Santander panel. If they are not on the panel you have a number of options open to you here:
- Carry on with your existing Syston conveyancing practitioner but Santander will no doubt instruct a conveyancing practitioner from their approved list. This will result in additional charges together with potential delay.
- Get a new solicitor to act in the purchase, ensuring that they are on the Santander conveyancing panel.
- Convince your conveyancing practitioner to do everything within their powers to get listed on the Santander panel of solicitors.