Me and my partner are hoping to acquire a 3 bedroom apartment in Didsbury with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Didsbury lawyer, but the lender says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel conveyancing practices or continue with our Didsbury conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you 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. Another option that might be available is for your Didsbury conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
We're in Didsbury, FTBs buying with a mortgage (lender is Aldermore , and our lawyer is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
A colleague suggested that where I am purchasing in Didsbury 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 occasionally included in the estimate for your Didsbury conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing significant information about Didsbury around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Didsbury Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Didsbury.
I decided to have a survey done on a house in Didsbury prior to instructing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the property. Our surveyor advised that some banks will refuse to give a loan on a flying freehold premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to call us we can look into this further via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Didsbury. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Didsbury to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
How can the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 affect my commercial premises in Didsbury and how can your lawyers assist?
The particular law that you refer to provides protection to commercial lessees, granting the right to make a request to court for a continuation of occupancy when the lease reaches an end. There are limited grounds that a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are involved. We are happy to direct you to commercial conveyancing firms who use the act for protection and help with commercial conveyancing in Didsbury