I am progressing with the sale of my flat in Weldon and the EA has just telephoned to advise that the purchasers are appointing a new conveyancer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major mortgage company only engage with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Weldon ?
Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in recent years big names such as HSBC, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for many years.
Mortgage companies blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
Can you explain why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Weldon costs more?
In summary, leasehold conveyancing in Weldon and Northamptonshire usually requires extra hours of investigation compared to freehold transactions. This includes checking the lease terms, communicating with the landlord about serving required notices, obtaining current service charge and management information, securing the freeholder’s consents and reviewing management accounts. The obligations on both the landlord and the tenant in the lease need to be studied by the buyer’s conveyancing team and read from beginning to end – no matter how many different proprietor have owned the lease since it was first entered into.
We're in Weldon, First time buyers purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Coventry BS , and our solicitor is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on last month in what should have been a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Weldon is the location of the property. Can you offer any opinion?
Flying freeholds in Weldon are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Weldon you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Weldon may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
I was recommended by a number of estate agents in Weldon to get a quote from a conveyancer on your site. What’s the financial upside for Estate Agents to offer your site over and above alternative conveyancing organisations?
We refuse to make any referral fee for sending work to this site. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission because a client could think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor flat in Weldon. Conveyancing has not commenced, but I have recently received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?
It best that you pay the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service invoices should be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.
Weldon Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before Purchasing
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Best to be warned whether a new roof is being put on or some other major work is due in the near future that will be shared by the leaseholders and will dramatically increase the the maintenance costs or require a one off payment. What restrictions are there in the Weldon Lease? The answer will be useful as a) areas could cause problems for the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will want to know about it