My husband and I are purchasing a 1 bedroom flat in Underwood with a mortgage. We have a Underwood lawyer, but the lender advise she’s not on their "panel". It appears that we have no choice but to instruct one of the lender panel firms or retain our Underwood lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. We consider that this is unjust; can we not require that the bank use our Underwood conveyancing practitioner ?
No, not really. 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 Underwood conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My uncle passed away last year and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Underwood. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £8000. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Clydesdale, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?
If you plan to refinance then Clydesdale will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Clydesdale conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Clydesdale mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
We had instructed conveyancers locally in Underwood on the Nationwide solicitor panel. They are now charging me a supplemental charge for dealing with the Nationwide mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Nationwide?
As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your conveyancer is entitled to charge a fee for this. The charge is not dictated by Nationwide but by your Underwood property lawyer. Some firms on the Nationwide panel will quote ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
I have paid off my mortgage with Co-operative. I assume I don't need a Underwood solicitor on the Co-operative panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Co-operative 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 Co-operative mortgage from the register. Co-operative, 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 Co-operative has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Co-operative has instructed the Land Registry to do so
After what feels like an age I have had an offer on a flat in Underwood accepted, but there is a chain. The sellers have offered on a flat, however it’s not been accepted yet, and are looking at other properties in the pipeline. I have instructed a local conveyancing solicitor in Underwood. What do I do now? When do I get the mortgage application with Clydesdale going?
It is normal to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (mortgage application is approx £1k, then survey, Underwood conveyancing search costs, etc). The first course of action is to ensure that your lawyer is on the Clydesdale approved list. As to the next phase this very much depends on the specifics of your transaction, desire for this property and on the state of the market. In a buoyant market the majority of home buyers will apply for a home loan with Clydesdale and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they ask their conveyancer to proceed with searches.
How do I locate a Underwood solicitor on the Britannia conveyancing panel? I have a car and am happy to travel upto 20kilometers to meet the lawyer.
You can use the tool on this website. Please pick a lender and your location and you will see a number of Underwood conveyancing lawyers locally. We have listed some Underwood conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can call them to verify if they are on the Britannia member panel
Helen (my wife) and I may need to sub-let our Underwood garden flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Underwood conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?
Even though your last Underwood conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek permission from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.
I invested in buying a 1 bedroom flat in Underwood, conveyancing was carried out July 1996. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Underwood with an extended lease are worth £201,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2089
With just 64 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £15,200 and £17,600 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.
My fiance and I have just had an offer accepted on a property and had an appointment on Friday with Nationwide for the mortgage. They advised me that when it comes to choosing a solicitor that unless they are on their approved list of solicitors then we will incur an extra charge of £250+. This is because they would then have to select a property lawyer to act on their behalf in addition to the one we select for ourselves and we will be on the hook for their fees. I have asked Nationwide to supply me with a list so I can request quotes only from their approved conveyancers but was told that I need to check with each individual lawyer to see if they are on the panel. What would be the best way of going about this?
Ask Nationwide what their panel criteria is for a conveyancer.Thereafter ask the solicitor of your choice whether they fit that criteria and have they acted on loans for Nationwide in the past. If the answer to those is yes, then just clarify this with Nationwide. Another option is to make use of our search tool and we may be able to find you a conveyancer in Underwood on the approved list for Nationwide.