I am selling my home in Witney and the estate agent has just telephoned to say that the purchasers are changing their conveyancer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only work with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a big named mortgage company only engage with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Witney ?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for over 25 years.
Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to disclose 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. 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 purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
Our Witney solicitor has discovered a discrepancy between the information in the home valuation survey and what is in the conveyancing documents. My lawyer says that he is obliged to check that the lender is happy with this discrepancy and is content to go ahead. Is my solicitor’s approach legitimate?
Your solicitor 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 you.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and identified one round the corner in Witney I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Witney in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?
If you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you could request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.
I am looking into buying my first house which is in Witney and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Witney. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Witney area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?
Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Witney. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found
I own a leasehold house in Witney. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Witney who acted for me is not around. Do I pay?
First contact HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Witney conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
Witney Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing
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Is there a share of the freehold? For many Witney leaseholds the cost for major works tend not to be included within service charges, although a few managing agents in Witney require tenants to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for major repairs or maintenance. Best to be warned whether window replacement or some other major work is due in the near future that will be shared by the leaseholders and could well materially increase the the maintenance fees or result in a one time payment.
How up-to-date is your search tool for the mortgage company conveyancing panel in Witney? Do the lenders send you an updated list?
Witney firms and firms conducting conveyancing in Witney themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the mortgage company conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from the lender directly.