My husband and I are looking to buy a house in Wedmore and have appointed a Wedmore conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Britannia have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Wedmore conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. 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 Quality 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Wedmore lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
I have given 2 months notice to my existing landlord and have to vacate my rented apartment in Wedmore by the end of next month. Conveyancing on my purchase is underway. Is it possible to complete in six weeks as I wish to avoid having to find temporary accommodation?
It is unwise to serve notice for your letting unless your lawyer suggests that you should. Assuming that you have not already done so, notify to your lawyer and request that they chase the other side, try to an acceptable time-line that everyone will look towards
The Wedmore conveyancing lawyers that I appointed last week on my house acquisition in Wedmore have suddenly shut down. I chose them because I had to have a firm on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel and my preferred Wedmore lawyer was not. I issued them a cheque for two hundred pounds in advance. What are my options?
If you have an estate agent involved then inform them immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors may be able to help.
A colleague pointed out to me me that in buying a property in Wedmore there may be various restrictions prohibiting external changes to the property. Is this right?
We are aware of anumerous of properties in Wedmore which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Wedmore should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
I am buying a property in Wedmore. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender Principality be concerned?
Given that your lender is Principality your lawyer must check the formal requirements outlined in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Principality. The CML Handbook stipulates minimum specifications for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancing practitioners are required to report to Principality where a lease does not satisfy these requirements. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not isolated to Wedmore.
About to purchase house in Wedmore. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Barclays conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Wedmore conveyancing practitioner is on the Barclays conveyancing panel.
I am purchasing a new build house in Wedmore with a mortgage from HSBC Bank. The sellers would not move on the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The estate agent advised me not disclose to my conveyancer about this deal as it could jeopardize my mortgage with HSBC 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 am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Wedmore where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Wedmore conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
I am the registered owner of a garden flat in Wedmore, conveyancing having been completed February 2002. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Wedmore with over 90 years remaining are worth £197,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2079
With 54 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £32,300 and £37,400 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 are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.