I am not well enough to travel far from Abergele. What is the rationale as to why all Abergele conveyancers are not on all lender panels?

A decade ago most lenders had an approach to risk which is different from today. The financial regulator in 2010 instigated a thematic review into property fraud which concluded: know the solicitors on your panel. Consequently, lenders have since soughtmore information from law firms about their operations and the individuals who work for them and set certain criteria such as completing a minimum amount of transactions. Thousands of firms have been removed from lender panels even though they had 100% healthy disciplinary record, no complaints and no claims and didn't just 'dabble' in conveyancing. Such firms were never going to meet the criteria of volume of transactions the mortgage companies set.

Our solicitor has discovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the flat we are purchasing in Abergele. The other side have put forward title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our conveyancing practitioner has advised that he must ensure that the bank is willing to move forward with this solution. Are we the client or is the bank?

Notwithstanding that you have a mortgage offer from the mortgage company does not mean to say that the property will meet their provisions for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. You and the bank are the client. The appropriate lender requirements have to be complied with.

Is there a search tool that I can use to check that the solicitor carrying out my conveyancing in Abergele is on the lender’sconveyancing panel? I am looking to avoid the situation of having one lawyer for me and one for The Mortgage Works thus spending £192.00 in supplemental legal bill.

You should take advantage of the search tool on this page. Pick the lender and type ‘Abergele’ or your location and you will see numerous solicitors offices in Abergele or near you.

I am purchasing my first flat in Abergele benefiting from help to buy. The builders refused to move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The property agent suggested that I not reveal to my solicitor about this side-deal as it may put at risk my loan with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

I work for a long established estate agency in Abergele where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Abergele conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Abergele Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

Is anyone aware of any major works on the horizon that could increase the service fees? Many Abergele leasehold flats will have a service bill for maintenance of the block levied on behalf of the landlord. If you acquire the apartment you will have to pay this liability, usually in instalments throughout the year. This may be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent for you to pay annual, ordinarily this is not a significant figure, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to check as sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. This question is important as a) areas can cause problems for the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the tenants have a dispute with the managing agents you will wish to have all the details