I am five weeks into the sale of my home in Winkleigh and the EA has just text me to say that the buyers are changing their conveyancer. The reason given is that the lender will only work with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a leading mortgage company only engage with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Winkleigh ?
Banks have always had panels of law firms they are content to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the pruning – 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 claims that it is hearing daily from firms 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. The buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
After looking at consumer advice sites for a cheap lawyer in Winkleigh, many advise that I should instruct a CQS accredited solicitor. What is CQS?
The Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme is the recognised kitemark for legal experts in buying or selling property, trusted by some of the UK's major mortgage companies. Four years ago the Conveyancing Quality Scheme was officially recognised by the Legal Ombudsman. The scheme does not cover licenced conveyancers. Winkleigh is one of the many areas in England and Wales where there are Accredited lawyers.
I'm spending time looking at apartments in Winkleigh and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it premature to have a solicitor in place? I am planning to take a mortgage with Kent Reliance.
You should start requesting conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their details on to the EA. Given that you are seeking a mortgage with Kent Reliance, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel.
The mortgage over my property is with Yorkshire BS for my property in Winkleigh. Conveyancing has been completed months ago. In the event that I decide to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Yorkshire BS?
You must advise Yorkshire BS prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Yorkshire BS’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Yorkshire BS directly. You need not do this via a Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel lawyer.
The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Winkleigh. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £235,500 and found one close by in Winkleigh I like with a park and transport links nearby, however it's only got 51 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Winkleigh in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?
If you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.
In my capacity as executor for the will of my aunt I am selling a property in Swansea but live in Winkleigh. My conveyancer (based 300 miles from merequires that I execute a statutory declaration ahead of completion. Can you recommend a conveyancing practitioner in Winkleigh to attest this legal document for me?
strictly speaking you are unlikely to need to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily any notary public or qualified solicitor will do regardless of whether they are Winkleigh based
I work for a reputable estate agent office in Winkleigh where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Winkleigh conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?
Provided that 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. This means 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 at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 am the registered owner of a garden flat in Winkleigh, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2001. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable properties in Winkleigh with over 90 years remaining are worth £211,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease finishes on 21st October 2092
With only 67 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £10,500 and £12,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.