My wife and I are intending to purchase a 1 bedroom flat in Yardley with a mortgage. We have a Yardley conveyancer, but the mortgage company advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel firms or retain our Yardley conveyancer and pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. We feel that this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
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 Yardley conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
The owners of the house we are looking to purchase have appointed a conveyancing solicitor in Yardley who has recommended a lock out contract with a down payment 10k. Are such agreements sensible?
Lock out agreements are contracts binding a home owner and prospective buyer giving the buyer a ‘clear field’ to the sale of the property within an agreed time frame. For all intents and purposes, a lock out agreement is a contract specifying that you will have a contract at a later date which is the contract for the actual sale. It is generally utilised for buyer assurance though in many situations, the proprietor may enjoy an upside from such agreements as well. There are various pros and cons to using an agreement but you should to check with your lawyer but beware that it may end up costing you more in conveyancing charges. For this these contracts are avoided when it comes to conveyancing in Yardley.
My wife and I purchased a 4 bedroom Georgian property in Yardley. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Lloyds TSB Bank. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for 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 Yardley and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing lawyer who completed the work.
How does conveyancing in Yardley differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Yardley contact us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is completed. This is because developers in Yardley typically buy 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 property lawyers 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 Yardley or who has acted in the same development.
My husband and I are FTB’s - had an offer accepted, but the estate agent advised that the seller will only proceed if we appoint their preferred solicitors as they need an ‘expedited deal’. My instinct tells me that we should use a family solicitor with experience of conveyancing in Yardley
We suspect that the seller is not behind this demand. Should the owner require ‘a quick sale', turning down a motivated buyer is is going to put the whole deal at risk. Bypass the agents and go straight to the sellers and make sure they understand (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you are chain free (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)but you will continue to instruct your preferred Yardley conveyancing firm - not the ones that will give their estate agent a kickback or meet his conveyancing targets demanded by senior management.