Please help. My Underwood solicitor is advising me that he is legally obliged toorder Underwood conveyancing searches asthe firm are on the Santanderapproved lawyer panel. These Underwood checks cost a lot of money can this be avoided?
You have limited options available to you. As you are obtaining a mortgage with a mortgage company your property lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your solicitor would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your lender’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook requirements . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Underwood conveyancing searches.
Do I have to attend the offices of the solicitor to execute the mortgage deed? If so, I will appoint a lawyer who conducts conveyancing in Underwood so that I can pop in to their offices when needed.
As opposed to twenty years ago, the vast majority banks no longer require their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. You will still be obliged to provide ID documents and there are still manifest benefits to instructing a local ayer, in your situation a conveyancing solicitor in Underwood.
How can we tell if a Underwood conveyancing solicitor on the Clydesdale panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Underwood getting recommendations is a good start. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always advise that you speak with the lawyer handling your conveyancing.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Principality. I assume I don't need a Underwood conveyancing practitioner on the Principality panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Principality 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 Principality mortgage from the register. Principality, 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 Principality has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Principality has instructed the Land Registry to do so
Co-operative have agreed my home loan in principle, my bid on a house in Underwood has been accepted, what are the next steps?
The estate agent will need to be advised as to your solicitor's details (be sure the property lawyers are on the lender’s approved list). Telephone Co-operative or the financial adviser and finish off any outstanding paperwork. Co-operative will sellect a valuer who will get in contact with the estate agent or owners to arrange a time for the valuation to happen. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes about a week to receive the mortgage offer. Co-operative will issue the offer to you and your lawyers. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Underwood.
I am buying my first flat in Underwood with the aid of help to buy. The builders refused to reduce the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative suggested that I not inform my solicitor about the deal as it may put at risk my loan with the lender. Is this normal?.
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.
Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Underwood prior to retaining conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. Our surveyor advised that some banks will refuse to issue a mortgage on such a property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different instructions for example to Nationwide. If you contact us we can look into this further with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Underwood. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Underwood to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
Two months into purchasing a residence in Underwood. Conveyancing lawyer has phoned to say the property is "Leasehold". Will this likely make a difference on our Halifax valuation?
Underwood conveyancing does not in most situations involve leasehold houses. The crucial factor here is the length of lease and the ground rent. If there are hundred of years years remaining with a peppercorn rent, it's virtually freehold, so it’s unlikely to impact the saleability significantly.
At the other end of the spectrum, if it's, say, Sixty years it is bound to have a material impact on the value, and most likely wouldn't be acceptable to the lender. The length of lease and ground rent will be specified in the lease provided to your lawyer.