My husband and I are hoping to acquire a 3 bedroom flat in Tamworth with a mortgage. We have a Tamworth conveyancer, however the mortgage company says she’s not on their "panel". It seems we have no option but to instruct one of the lender panel solicitors or continue with our Tamworth conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel lawyers to represent them. We feel that this is unjust; are we not able to demand that the mortgage company use our Tamworth property lawyer ?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer 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. Another option that might be available is for your Tamworth conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Having sold my house in Tamworth last August but our buyer keeps telephoning me to moan that her conveyancer is waiting to hear from mylawyer. What are the post completion sale formalities now that I have sold?
After completion of your sale your conveyancer should forward the transfer deeds and all supplemental paperwork to the buyer’s solicitors. Where appropriate, your conveyancer should also send confirmation that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been redeemed to the buyers lawyers. There are no post completion steps just for conveyancing in Tamworth.
I own a semi-detached Victorian house in Tamworth. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Barclays . I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the matching property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Tamworth and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also enquire as to the position with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and found one close by in Tamworth I like with amenity areas and transport links nearby, however it only has 51 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Tamworth in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a home loan that many years may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the property for at least 2 years you may request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
What tools are available to search for a Tamworth solicitor on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel? I drive a motor bike and am happy to travel upto 10miles to meet the solicitor.
You can use the tool on this page. Please select a mortgage company and your location and you will see a number of Tamworth conveyancing lawyers locally. We have listed some Tamworth conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can telephone them to check whether they are on the Bank of Scotland approved list
Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden apartment in Tamworth. Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon, however I have just received a yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?
Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the maintenance contribution as you normally would because all ground rent and maintenance payments should be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Tamworth - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying
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How is the lease structured? Many Tamworth leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the building set on behalf of the landlord. If you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this liability, normally in instalments during the year. This could differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common grounds. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge to be met annual, this is usually not a large amount, say around £25-£75 but you need to check as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds. This question is helpful as a) areas may cause problems in the building as the common areas may start to deteriorate if maintenance are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the running of the building you will need to have all the details