We are buying a 3 bedroom flat in Southborough with a mortgage. We like our Southborough lawyer, however the bank advise he's not on their "panel". It seems we have no option but to use one of the lender panel solicitors or retain our Southborough lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to represent them. This feels very unfair; are we not able to require that the mortgage company use our Southborough property lawyer ?
Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’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. Another option that might be available is for your Southborough conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Would the conveyancing lawyers listed on your site conduct conveyancing in Southborough by way of an attended exchange?
There are a few conveyancing experts who can conduct 24hr exchanges. Do call us to secure a fee calculation and details as to dates.
I just acquired a property at auction in Southborough. Conveyancing is needed. What is next?
Now that you are legally committed yourself to purchase you will need to appoint a conveyancing practitioner soon as you will have a fast approaching deadline in which to complete the property. An auction property should have a corresponding auction set of papers. This should include most,if not all of the paperwork that your solicitor requires. In the case of leasehold property the conveyancing pack may include a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing paperwork specific to a leasehold property. You must hand this to the conveyancer instructed by you ASAP. You also need to ensure that that you have the requisite funding organised to complete on the on the contractual date .
A relative advised me that in purchasing a property in Southborough there could be various restrictions limiting what one can do in terms of external changes to a property. Is this right?
There are a number of properties in Southborough which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to execute external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Southborough should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
I am being advised by my solicitor that lack of planning permission insurance is needed on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Southborough?
The right level of lack of planning permission indemnity insurance should be dictated by who who your lender is. It would differ for example between Birmingham Midshires and The Royal Bank of Scotland. Conveyancing lawyers as opposed to borrowers take out such policies.
My wife and I have a semi-detached Georgian house in Southborough. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and The Royal Bank of Scotland. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be 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 Southborough 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 check the situation with the conveyancing lawyer who carried out the work.
I am looking for a flat up to £235,500 and identified one near me in Southborough I like with open areas and station nearby, however it's only got 49 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Southborough for this price, 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 will likely be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.