We are purchasing a 2 bedroom apartment in Stowmarket with a mortgage. We like our Stowmarket lawyer, but the lender says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel conveyancing practices or retain our Stowmarket conveyancer as well as pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. This seems very unfair; are we not able to insist that the lender use our Stowmarket lawyer ?
Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’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. A further alternative is for your Stowmarket conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Is it the case that all Stowmarket CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Nottingham conveyancing list of approved practices?
A selection of lenders now use CQS as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to join their panels.
Is it the case that all Stowmarket solicitor firms on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the SRA. Many lenders do list licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
We have a mortgage agreed in principle with Principality. Stowmarket conveyancing solicitors were instructed. How long does it take for Principality to forward the offer to the conveyancing practitioner?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have Principality completed the valuation? Have you advised Principality as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Principality conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.
How does conveyancing in Stowmarket differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Stowmarket approach us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is constructed. This is because house builders in Stowmarket usually acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Stowmarket or who has acted in the same development.
Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Stowmarket from the point of view of expediting the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Stowmarket can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers’ conveyancers. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a Stowmarket conveyancing transaction. If a new share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible. The majority of landlords or Management Companies in Stowmarket levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Stowmarket. A minority of Stowmarket leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers. You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.
Stowmarket Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing
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How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Make sure you investigate if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance it is very common in Stowmarket leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Stowmarket. If you like the flatin Stowmarket but your cat can’t make the move with you then you will be faced difficult compromise. Plenty Stowmarket leasehold flats will incur a service bill for maintenance of the building invoiced on behalf of the management company. Should you buy the apartment you will have to pay this amount, usually quarterly accross the year. This may differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, ordinarily this is not a large figure, say around £50-£100 but you need to check as sometimes it can be surprisingly expensive.
The conveyancing solicitors conducting our conveyancing in Stowmarket has forwarded papers to review that show the property is unregistered with epitome documents. Is it not the case that all properties in Stowmarket are registered?
Although most properties in Stowmarket are now registered with the Land Registry there are still some that remain unregistered. Any property in Stowmarket that has been purchased since the late 1980’s will have been registered at the HM Land Registry under the compulsory ‘first registration’ scheme. However, if a Stowmarket property has not changed hands in that time then it’s likely the old fashioned title deeds will be the only evidence of ownership.Plenty of Stowmarket conveyancing practitioners will be capable of dealing with this type of conveyancing but if any uncertainty prevails the conventional guidance these days is for the current owners to register it first and thereafter deal with the transfer to the buyer - this will have a domino effect to result in a prolonged transaction.