I am selling my apartment in Woodbridge and the estate agent has just e-mailed to say that the buyers are appointing a new property lawyer. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major mortgage company only work with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Woodbridge ?
Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, 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 represented them for many years.
Banks point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some 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. The buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
My Woodbridge solicitor has uncovered a discrepancy between the information in the valuation survey and what is revealed within the conveyancing documents. My solicitor has advised that he needs to ensure that the bank is OK with this discrepancy and is content to go ahead. Is my solicitor’s approach correct?
Your lawyer 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 both parties.
Is there a reason why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Woodbridge costs more?
Woodbridge leasehold conveyancing transactions usually involve additional investigations than freeholds including investigating the Lease, liaising with the Landlord such as serving relevant notices on the Landlord or managing agent, obtaining up-to-date service charge and management information, obtaining Landlord’s consents and reviewing management accounts and formation documents.
There are plenty of conveyancing solicitors in Woodbridge but how do I know who I should use?
We would encourage you not to go for the cheapest Woodbridge conveyancing quote. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Woodbridge. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an on account payment of £200. Not long after, the conveyancing practitioner contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the TSB conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the TSB panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
I am selling my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in September 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Clydesdale are being a right pain. The Woodbridge solicitor who is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Clydesdale are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Clydesdale have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Clydesdale have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Clydesdale may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
I am buying a new build house in Woodbridge with the aid of help to buy. The sellers would not budge the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The sale representative suggested that I not disclose to my conveyancer about this extras as it will put at risk my mortgage with Clydesdale. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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.
Due to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Woodbridge. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?
Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Woodbridge should include some of the following:
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The landlord’s rights to access the property. You should be made aware that your landlord has rights of access as well as be informed how much notice must be provided. An explanation concerning the obligations in the lease to pay service charges - in respect of the block, and the more general rights a leaseholder enjoys Who has the liability to repair and maintain the main walls and foundations. It is essential that you know who is liable for the repair and maintenance of all parts of the block and estate Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the lessee, head lessor, freeholder Your lawyers should enable you to have an understanding of the insurance requirements
Woodbridge Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing
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Best to be warned whether fixing the lift or some other significant cost is due shortly that will be shared amongst the tenants and will dramatically increase the the maintenance charges or necessitate a specific invoice. The answer will be useful as a) areas could cause problems for the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will need to know about it Is anyone aware of any major works on the horizon that will add a premium to the maintenance fees?