I am nearing exchange of contracts for my apartment in Wells and the estate agent has just e-mailed to warn that the purchasers are changing their law firm. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major lender only deal with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Wells ?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms they are content to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for over 25 years.
Mortgage companies justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise 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 not going to have any sway in the decision.
The Wells conveyancing firm handling our Wells conveyancing has discovered a difference when comparing the information in the home valuation survey and what is in the legal papers for the property. My solicitor informs me that he needs to ensure that the lender is OK with this discrepancy and is still content to lend. Is my solicitor’s stance appropriate?
Your lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for both parties.
Me and my brother purchased a semi-detached Edwardian house in Wells. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Alliance & Leicester . I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the matching property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Wells and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also enquire as to the position with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the conveyancing.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on a fortnight ago in what should have been a quick, no chain conveyancing. Wells is where the house is located. What do you suggest?
Flying freeholds in Wells are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Wells you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Wells 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 premises.
What tools are available to search for a Wells law firm on the Birmingham Midshires conveyancing panel? I drive a motor bike and am willing to travel upto 10miles to meet the conveyancer.
Feel free to make use of the facility on this website. Please pick a mortgage company and your location and you will see a number of Wells conveyancing lawyers based on proximity. We have listed some Wells conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can ring them to see if they are on the Birmingham Midshires approved list
I am employed by a busy estate agency in Wells where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Wells conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is 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 acquired a garden flat in Wells, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Wells with an extended lease are worth £195,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2088
With just 63 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £16,200 and £18,600 as well as costs.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.