My mortgage broker says he needs my Harold Wood solicitor’s panel reference for the Santander conveyancing panel. Can you suggest how I find this out. I have contacted my local Harold Wood office but they have not responded to me.

You are best placed to get this information from your Harold Wood conveyancing practitioner . Most Harold Wood law firms will retain a file or database of lender panel information which would include, if applicable, their conveyancing panel details for each lender.

In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Harold Wood? Is this really warranted?

You are right in the requirement set out by your solicitor has nothing to do with conveyancing in Harold Wood. Nowadays you can not complete any conveyancing process if you have not submitting proof of your identity. Ordinarily this takes the form of a either your passport or driving licence plus a council tax bill. Remember if you are supplying your driving licence as evidence of identification it must be both the paper element as well as the photo card part, one is not acceptable without the other.

Evidence of your origin of monies is mandated in accordance with the Money Laundering Regulations. Don’t be offended when when this is requested of you as your conveyancer must retain this information on record. Your Harold Wood conveyancing solicitor will need to see evidence of proof of funds prior to accepting any funds from you into their client account and they should also ask additional questions regarding the source of monies.

My conveyancer has informed me that restrictive coveneant insurance is necessary on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Harold Wood conveyancing?

The right level of restrictive coveneant indemnity insurance depends on your lender. It would differ for example between Nationwide Building Society and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. Conveyancing practitioners as opposed to members of the public take out such policies.

We had chosen solicitors locally in Harold Wood on the Leeds Building Society solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a further amount for dealing with the Leeds Building Society mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set by Leeds Building Society?

Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your conveyancer is entitled to levy a fee for this. The fee is not set by Leeds Building Society but by your Harold Wood conveyancer. Numerous firms on the Leeds Building Society panel will quote an ‘acting for lender’ fee but some firms incorporate it on their overall fee.

My offer on a semi in Harold Wood has been accepted, the owners do however have a tied purchase. The vendors have offered on somewhere, but it’s not yet tied up, and are looking at other apartments booked. I have selected a nearby conveyancing solicitor in Harold Wood. What should be my next step? At what stage should I apply for the mortgage with RBS?

It is understandable to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses prematurely (home loan application is approx one thousand pounds, then survey, Harold Wood conveyancing search fees, etc). The first course of action is to ensure that your property lawyer is on the RBS approved list. As to the next phase 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 the majority of buyers will apply for the mortgage with RBS and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they request their conveyancer to move forward with the conveyancing in Harold Wood.

I want to let out my leasehold flat in Harold Wood. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

The lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Harold Wood do not prevent subletting altogether – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the tenancy agreement.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a Harold Wood conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the LVT to assess the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Harold Wood property is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 57.5 years.

My step-son is just in the process of moving house, he had his mortgage in principle. After the seller agreed the offer on the apartment we called the mortgage company to issue the formal offer. We were disappointed to discover that banks do not accept all solicitor, they need to be on their approved list, is this legal?

Banks tend to imposes restrictions either the type or the number of conveyancing firms on their panel. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that banks have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Harold Wood conveyancer on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Unlikely.