My husband and I are purchasing a 1 bedroom apartment in Birtley with a residential mortgage from lend.We have a Birtley conveyancing solicitor but lend informed us her practice is not listed on their "panel". It seems we have no choice but to instruct a lend panel firm or retain our high street solicitor and pay for a lend panel lawyer to represent them.We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that use our lawyer?
Unfortunately,no. The loan offered to you contains terms and conditions, a common one being that solicitors will be on the solicitor panel.Until recently, most mortgage companies had large numbers of solicitors on their panels: a borrower could find 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. Another option that might be available is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and found one round the corner in Birtley I like with a park and railway links nearby, the downside is that it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Birtley in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage that many years will be an issue. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you could request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.
My brother has recommend that I use his lawyers for conveyancing in Birtley. Should I use them?
No doubt the ideal way to find a conveyancing lawyer is to seek guidance from friends or relatives who have actually used the conveyancer that you are considering.