My solicitor has discovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the apartment we are buying in Wheathampstead. The seller’s lawyers have suggested title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our property lawyer says that he must ensure that the mortgage company is willing to move forward with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the bank?
Notwithstanding that you have a mortgage offer from the bank does not mean to say that the property will meet their conditions for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. You and the mortgage company are the client. The appropriate lender requirements have to be complied with.
It is 10 years ago since I acquired my house in Wheathampstead. Conveyancing lawyers have just been appointed on the sale but I can't locate my deeds. Is this a problem?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly the deeds may be retained by your mortgage company or they could be archived with the conveyancers who handled the purchase. Secondly in all probability the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Wheathampstead involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is not registered it is more of a problem but is not insurmountable.
What happens if my lawyer’s firm is expelled from the Barclays Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Wheathampstead?
First, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.
I have a 4 bedroom Victorian property in Wheathampstead. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Nottingham Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for 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 Wheathampstead and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also question the position with your conveyancing solicitor who completed the work.
I'm buying a new build house in Wheathampstead with a mortgage from Platform Home Loans Ltd. The builders refused to move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative suggested that I not to tell my solicitor about the deal as it could affect my loan with Platform Home Loans Ltd. Should I keep quiet?.
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.
Is it best to instruct a Wheathampstead conveyancing lawyer based in the area that I am purchasing? I have an old university friend who can handle the conveyancing however they are based 400miles drive away.
The primary upside of using a local Wheathampstead conveyancing firm is that you can pop in to execute paperwork, present your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Wheathampstead know how is a plus. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who instructed your friend and in the main were content that should trump using an unfamiliar Wheathampstead conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being round the corner.