My husband and I are planning to buy a home in Washwood Heath and are in fact using a Washwood Heath conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Britannia have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Washwood Heath lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Washwood Heath lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
My wife and I have lately purchased a house in Washwood Heath. We have noticed several issues with the house which we believe were overlooked in the conveyancing searches. What action can we take? Can you clarify the type of searches that should have been ordered for conveyancing in Washwood Heath?
The question is not clear as to the nature of the problems and if they are specific to conveyancing in Washwood Heath. Conveyancing searches and due diligence initiated during the buying process are supposed to help avoid problems. As part of the process, a property owner answers a document called a Seller’s Property Information Form. If the information ends up being inaccurate, you could possibly take legal action against the vendor for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Washwood Heath.
I am in the process of mortgaging my home in Washwood Heath, does my lawyer have to be on the RBS Solicitor panel?
In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on the RBS conveyancing panel, but RBS would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same transaction.
How can we know in advance if a Washwood Heath conveyancing solicitor on the Virgin Money panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Washwood Heath obtaining recommendations is a sensible 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 conducting your transaction.
We are getting the release of further monies on our mortgage from Lloyds as we wish to carry out renovations to our house in Washwood Heath. Do we need to appoint a nearby Washwood Heath solicitor on the Lloyds conveyancing panel to handle the legals?
Lloyds do not ordinarily require a member of their approved list of lawyers to deal with such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Lloyds panel.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Washwood Heath. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender Bank of Ireland be concerned?
As you are obtaining a mortgage with Bank of Ireland your lawyer must comply with the conveyancing instructions contained in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Bank of Ireland. The CML Handbook sets out minimum specifications for solar panel roof-space leases, and solicitors are required to report to Bank of Ireland where a lease fails to meet these specifications. The specifications relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not limited to Washwood Heath.
I am purchasing a new build house in Washwood Heath with a loan from Nottingham Building Society. The sellers would not reduce the amount so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not reveal to my solicitor about the side-deal as it would impact my loan with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
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.
I own a leasehold flat in Washwood Heath. Conveyancing was finalised in five years ago. I have read on numerous consumer forums that I mustn’t allow the lease length fall too low. Why is that a problem?
Washwood Heath domestic long term leases are for a fixed term - normally just under one hundred years when they are first granted. However a significant flats in Washwood Heath were constructed or converted 20 or more years ago and so such leases now have under eighty years left to run. That may seem like plenty of time however Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage institutions tend to need leases to have a minimum of 75 years unexpired to adequate security. This means that when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are nearing 75 years. To enhance the marketability of your property you should be considering whether or not to extend your lease well in advance of selling the property. You should note that there are strong financial reasons to doing so before the lease reaches even 80 years as when the lease falls below eighty years the amount you have to pay to extend starts to escalate.