I am in the process of selling my ground floor flat in Thatcham and the EA has just text me to advise that the buyers are swapping solicitor. The excuse is that the bank will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading lender only work with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Thatcham ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in the last few years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 25 years.
Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that 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 planning on selling our home in Thatcham and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was constructed land that was not decontaminated. A high street Thatcham lawyer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the purchasers are using an online conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Thatcham. We have lived in Thatcham for many years we know of no issue. Should we get in touch with our local Authority to seek confirmation that the buyers are looking for.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm already. What do they say? You should 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 life insurance to cover that same sickness)
About to purchase a new build apartment in Thatcham. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.
Here is a sample of a few leasehold new build questions that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Thatcham
-
The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company?
I opted to have a survey carried out on a house in Thatcham prior to appointing conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. Our surveyor advised that some lenders tend refuse to issue a mortgage on a flying freehold premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different instructions from Halifax. If you call us we can look into this further via the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Thatcham. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Thatcham to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
Last February I purchased a leasehold house in Thatcham. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
Thatcham Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying
-
How long is the Lease? How much is the ground rent and service charge? It is important to be aware whether changing the roof or some other major work is coming up that will be shared amongst the tenants and may well materially impact the level of the maintenance costs or require a one time payment.
My nephew is about to join the property ladder, the home loan was agreed last week in principle. After the seller agreed the offer on the house we contacted the building society to progress the mortgage application. I was shocked to hear that mortgage companies do not accept all property lawyer, they must be on their panel, is this correct?
Mortgage Companies tend to imposes restrictions either the type or the number of conveyancing practices on their panel. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that banks have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Thatcham conveyancer on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Unlikely.