My wife and I are intending to buy a 2 bedroom flat in Trefnant with a mortgage. We like our Trefnant conveyancer, but the bank says she’s not on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to use one of the bank panel firms or keep our Trefnant lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; can we not require that the bank use our Trefnant solicitor ?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’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 Trefnant conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
I am purchasing a semi-detached house in Trefnant. Can I do my own conveyancing?
Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Trefnant you will have to appoint a solicitor on your lender's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Trefnant.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Bank of Ireland. I assume I don't need a Trefnant conveyancing practitioner on the Bank of Ireland panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Bank of Ireland 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 Bank of Ireland mortgage from the register. Bank of Ireland, 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 Bank of Ireland has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Bank of Ireland has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Trefnant. My financial adviser suggested a property lawyer. I paid an upfront payment of £150. A couple of days later, the conveyancing practitioner called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Skipton 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 Skipton 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.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Trefnant lawyer having made sure that they are on the Barclays conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Barclays will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Barclays will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Trefnant surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
How does conveyancing in Trefnant differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Trefnant approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is constructed. This is because new home sellers in Trefnant usually acquire the land, 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 property lawyers 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Trefnant or who has acted in the same development.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and found one round the corner in Trefnant I like with open areas and station in the vicinity, however it's only got 49 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Trefnant in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you need a home loan that many years will likely be problematic. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Trefnant. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully on Monday. What should I be looking out for?
Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Trefnant should include some of the following:
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What remedies are open the freeholder should you breach a clause of your lease? Rent payments - how much and when is collected, and also know whether this will change in the future You should have a good understanding of the building insurance requirements Who has the liability for repairing the window frames
I am the registered owner of a 2 bed flat in Trefnant, conveyancing was carried out in 2006. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar flats in Trefnant with over 90 years remaining are worth £185,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease ends on 21st October 2084
You have 60 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £20,000 and £23,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.