We are buying a newbuild apartment in Kingston Vale with a homeloan from Barnsley Building Society.We would like to retain our Kingston Vale conveyancing practitioner but Barnsley Building Society advised that his firm is not listed on their approved list of member firms. It seems we are left with little choice but to instruct a Barnsley Building Society panel solicitor or keep our high street solicitor and fork out for a Barnsley Building Society panel lawyer to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you contains various provisions, one of which will be that solicitors needs to be on the Barnsley Building Society conveyancing panel. in the past, most mortgage companies had large numbers of law firms 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. A further alternative is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Barnsley Building Society
I am buying a property in Kingston Vale. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Nottingham have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
Given that your lender is Nottingham your lawyer must comply with the conveyancing instructions outlined in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Nottingham. The CML Handbook stipulates minimum specifications for solar panel roof-space leases, and property lawyers are required to report to Nottingham where a lease fails to satisfy these specifications. The provisions relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not isolated to Kingston Vale.
The mortgage over my property is with Clydesdale for my property in Kingston Vale. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Clydesdale?
You must advise Clydesdale in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Clydesdale’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Clydesdale will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Clydesdale directly. You need not do this via a Clydesdale conveyancing panel firm.
After what seems like an age I have had an offer on a flat in Kingston Vale accepted, the owners do however have a connected purchase. The sellers have offered on a property, but it’s not been accepted yet, and are looking at other apartments in the pipeline. I have selected a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in Kingston Vale. What should be my next step? When should I get the mortgage application with Yorkshire BS going?
It is usual to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (home loan application is approx £1k, then survey, Kingston Vale conveyancing search charges, etc). The first course of action is to ensure that your conveyancing practitioner is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. As to the next steps this very much depends on the specifics of your case, motivation for the property and on the state of the market. In a buoyant market some buyers would apply for a home loan with Yorkshire BS and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they request their conveyancing practitioner to move forward with the conveyancing in Kingston Vale.
What will a local search inform me regarding the property I am purchasing in Kingston Vale?
Kingston Vale conveyancing often starts with the ordering local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search company such as Searches UK The local search is essential in every Kingston Vale conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any unpleasant once you have moved into your property. The search will supply data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 subject areas.
I opted to have a survey completed on a property in Kingston Vale before instructing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor has said that some banks may refuse to give a loan on such a house.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to call us we can investigate further with the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Kingston Vale. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Kingston Vale to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
Am I better off to use a Kingston Vale conveyancing solicitor in close proximity to the house I am hoping to buy? We have a good friend who can handle the conveyancing however his firm is located 200kilometers drive away.
The benefit of a local Kingston Vale conveyancing practice is that you can visit the firm to sign documents, present your ID and apply pressure on them if necessary. They will also have local intelligence which is a benefit. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If if people you trust used your friend and in the main were impressed that should surpass using an unknown Kingston Vale conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being local.