My wife and I are planning to buy a 3 bedroom flat in Windlesham with a mortgage. We have a Windlesham solicitor, but the mortgage company advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel firms or retain our Windlesham conveyancing practitioner as well as pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. We consider that this is inequitable; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Windlesham conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
The owners have rather pushy sellers who has recommended a exclusivity agreement with a non-refundable deposit 10k. Are such agreements sensible?
Lock out agreements are contracts between a property vendor and prospective acquirer giving the buyer the sole right to purchase the premises within an agreed time frame. Essentially, a lock out is a document specifying that you will receive a contract at a later time which is the contract for the actual sale. It is generally used for buyer protection though in many situations, the owner may stand to benefit from such agreements as well. There are many positives and negatives to having an agreement but you should to check with your lawyer but note that it may result in costing you more in conveyancing charges. For these reasons these contracts are unusual when it comes to conveyancing in Windlesham.
When it comes to lenders such as Virgin Money, do Windlesham conveyancers face an annual charge to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are unaware of any lender fees to register on their panel, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
is it true that all Windlesham solicitors on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel are overseen by the SRA?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of mortgage companies do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the firms would be regulated by the CLC.
Skipton have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on a apartment in Windlesham has been agreed to, now what?
The estate agent will need to be advised as to your property lawyer's details (be sure the conveyancers are on the lender’s panel). Call up Skipton or your financial adviser and finish off any appropriate forms. Skipton will appoint a valuer who will get in contact with the selling agent or vendor to arrange a time for the valuation to occur. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes about a week for the mortgage offer to be issued. Skipton will issue the offer to you and your solicitors. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Windlesham.
Do I need to pay for insurance to address the risk of chancel repairs when acquiring a house in Windlesham?
Unless a previous acquisition of the premises completed after 12 October 2013 you may assume that solicitors delivering conveyancing in Windlesham to continue to suggest a chancel search and or chancel repair liability policy.
I purchased a renovated Georgian house in Windlesham. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Aldermore. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You need to 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 proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Windlesham 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 situation with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the work.
I've recently bought a leasehold house in Windlesham. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in Windlesham, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable properties in Windlesham with an extended lease are worth £222,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease ends on 21st October 2096
With just 70 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus legals.
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 without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.