Me and my fiance are buying a 2 bedroom flat in Underwood with a mortgage. We have a Underwood solicitor, but the bank says she’s not on their "panel". It appears that we have little choice but to use one of the bank panel firms or continue with our Underwood solicitor as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. We consider that this is unjust; are we not able to insist 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. Another option that might be available is for your Underwood conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
As I am unsure how the conveyancing bit works what is the most important advice you can give me concerning purchase conveyancing in Underwood?
Not many law firms shout this from the rooftops but conveyancing in Underwood and elsewhere in Nottinghamshire is often a confrontational process. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there is an abundance of room for confrontation between you and others involved in the home moving process. For instance, the vendor, selling agent and even potentially a lender. Choosing a lawyer for your conveyancing in Underwood is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE party in the process whose responsibility is to act in your legal interests and to keep you safe.
On occasion a third party with a vested interest will try and convince you that you should follow their advice. For instance, the estate agent may claim to be assisting by claiming that your lawyer is wrong. Or your mortgage broker may advise you to do something that is contrary to your lawyers guidance. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties when it comes to the legal transfer of property.
My aunt passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Underwood. The house had a small mortgage left on it of around £4500. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Leeds Building Society, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?
If you plan to refinance then Leeds Building Society will require that you use a conveyancer on the Leeds Building Society 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 Leeds Building Society 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 Leeds Building Society mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
I own a 4 bedroom Edwardian house in Underwood. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Skipton Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the matching address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for 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 Underwood and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also enquire as to the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the conveyancing.
I am buying a new build house in Underwood benefiting from help to buy. The sellers would not budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent advised me not to tell my conveyancer about this side-deal as it could affect my loan with Leeds Building Society. Should I keep quiet?.
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.
As co-executor for the will of my uncle I am disposing of a property in Newport but reside in Underwood. My lawyer (who is 260 kilometers awayrequires that I sign a statutory declaration prior to completion. Could you suggest a conveyancing lawyer in Underwood who can attest and place their company stamp on the document?
strictly speaking you should not need to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily any notary public or qualified solicitor will do regardless of whether they are Underwood based