We are hoping to acquire a 1 bedroom apartment in Lanchester with a mortgage. We like our Lanchester lawyer, but the lender says he's not on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to use one of the lender panel firms or keep our Lanchester lawyer and pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. We regard this is unjust; can we not insist that the mortgage company use our Lanchester conveyancing practitioner ?
Unfortunately,no. 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. Another option that might be available is for your Lanchester conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Are all Lanchester Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel?
A selection of lenders now make use of the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to remain on their panels.
How can we tell if a Lanchester conveyancing solicitor on the TSB panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Lanchester getting recommendations is a sensible starting point. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always suggest that you speak with the lawyer carrying out your conveyancing.
Having read lots of house buying guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Lanchester solicitor - who is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Nottingham will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Nottingham will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your conveyancer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Lanchester postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Nottingham, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Lanchester.
Will our lawyer be raising enquiries concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Lanchester.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers dealing with homes in Lanchester. Some people will acquire a property in Lanchester, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical destruction, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or sell the property. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.
Conveyancers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a various searches that can be carried out by the purchaser or by their lawyers which will figure out the risks in Lanchester. The conventional set of property information forms sent to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) incorporates a usual question of the owner to determine whether the premises has suffered from flooding. If the premises has been flooded in past and is not revealed by the seller, then a purchaser may issue a legal claim for losses as a result of such an misleading response. The purchaser’s conveyancers will also order an environmental search. This should indicate whether there is any known flood risk. If so, additional inquiries will need to be carried out.
4 months have elapsed following my purchase conveyancing in Lanchester completed. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £195,000 and found one close by in Lanchester I like with amenity areas and station nearby, the downside is that it only has 52 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Lanchester in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
Should you need a home loan the shortness of the lease will be an issue. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.