I am selling my house in West Brompton and the EA has just called to advise that the purchasers are changing their law firm. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named mortgage company only engage with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in West Brompton ?
Banks have always had panels of law firms they are content to work with, but in the last 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 decades.
Mortgage companies justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been stiffened 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 being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some 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 purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
Do the conveyancing lawyers via your comparison service conduct attended exchange conveyancing in West Brompton?
There are a few conveyancing specialists carrying out attended exchanges. Do call us to get a costs illustration and details as to dates.
Can I use your services to recommend a Conveyancing solicitor in West Brompton even where I’m not buying or selling a house, for example if I intend to buy an office in West Brompton with a mortgage from Santander?
Our search tool is predominantly there to select residential conveyancing solicitors in West Brompton but we have recorded towards the bottom of this page a selection of West Brompton commercial conveyancing firms. You will need to enquire with the solicitors directly to establish if they can also act for Santander
My colleague advised me that where I am purchasing in West Brompton I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard West Brompton conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about West Brompton around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the West Brompton Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, West Brompton Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding West Brompton.
I'm purchasing my first flat in West Brompton benefiting from help to buy. The builders refused to move on the amount so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not inform my conveyancer about this deal as it will jeopardize my loan with the lender. 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 have just started marketing my 2 bed flat in West Brompton. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed, but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?
Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the service charge as you normally would because all rents and service payments will be allotted 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 unless 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
I inherited a first floor flat in West Brompton. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum payable for a lease extension?
Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a West Brompton conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a West Brompton residence is 5 Wetherby Gardens in June 2014. the Tribunal concluded that the price to be paid for the freehold of the property was £2,369,452. This case related to 5 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 38.98 years.