We are buying a 1 bedroom flat in Blackfriars with a mortgage. We have a Blackfriars lawyer, however the lender says he's not on their "panel". It appears that we have little option but to instruct one of the mortgage company panel solicitors or continue with our Blackfriars and pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. We regard this is unjust; can we not require that the bank use our Blackfriars ?
No, not really. 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 Blackfriars conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My wife and I have recently appointed a conveyancing solicitor in Blackfriars. I I am struggling to find out whether they are accepted on the conveyancing panel. Can you or the lender confirm if they are on the panel?
You should e-mail your conveyancer and enquire if they are on the lender panel. Alternatively you can get in touch with who may be able to assist.
My colleague advised me that if I am purchasing in Blackfriars I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is sometimes included in the estimate for your Blackfriars conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Blackfriars around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Blackfriars Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Blackfriars.
Me and my brother purchased a renovated Victorian house in Blackfriars. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and . I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same property. Is it worth asking to clarify?
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Blackfriars 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 enquire as to the position with your conveyancing practitioner who carried out the work.
I'm purchasing my first flat in Blackfriars with a loan from . The sellers would not reduce the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The property agent suggested that I not reveal to my lawyer about this extras as it would affect my loan with . 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.