Unfortunately I am unable to travel far from Beckton. What is the rationale as to why all Beckton lawyers aren't included on all mortgage company panels?
A decade ago most lenders exhibited an attitude to risk which is different from today. The FSA in 2010 carried out a thematic review into property fraud which in summary warned lenders: know the property lawyers on your panel. Consequently, banks have since soughtmore information from law firms regarding their processes and the staff who work for them and set certain criteria such as completing a minimum amount of transactions. Many law practices have found themselves excluded from lender panels even though they had an exemplary track record, no complaints and zero claims and didn't just 'dabble' in conveyancing. Such firms were never going to meet the criteria of volume of transactions the mortgage companies insisted on.
My property lawyer in Beckton is not listed on the Birmingham Midshires Conveyancing Panel. Is it possible for me to continue with my prefered solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the Birmingham Midshires panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
Your options are as follows:
- Complete the purchase with your existing Beckton solicitors but Birmingham Midshires will need to use a lawyer on their list of acceptable firms. This will result in additional overall legal charges as well as cause delays.
- Choose an alternative solicitor to to deal with the conveyancing, not forgetting to check they are Birmingham Midshires approved.
- Persuade your Birmingham Midshires based solicitor to attempt to join the Birmingham Midshires panel
What can a local search reveal regarding the house my wife and I buying in Beckton?
Beckton conveyancing often commences with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search company for instance Searchflow The local search is essential in every Beckton conveyancing purchase; as long as you wish to avoid any unpleasant once you have moved into your property. The search will reveal 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 topic areas.
My wife and I own a semi-detached Victorian house in Beckton. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Britannia. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two 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 Beckton and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also question the position with the conveyancing lawyer who carried out the work.
I am buying my first flat in Beckton with a loan from Leeds Building Society. The developers refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The sale representative advised me not disclose to my solicitor about this extras as it could impact my loan with the lender. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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.