My partner and I are looking to acquire a property in Maryland and are in fact using a Maryland conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Norwich and Peterborough Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Maryland solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Maryland lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Why do I have to pay up front for conveyancing in Maryland?
If you are buying a property in Maryland your solicitor will ask you put them with monies to cover the search fees. Normally this is asked for to cover the fees of the Local Authority Search. When the down payment is as part of the purchase price then this should be required immediately ahead of exchange of contracts. Any further balance that is needed should be sent to your lawyer a few days ahead of the day of completion.
I am considering applying for a HSBC mortgage for purchase of a new build (under development) in Maryland with 70% loan to value. Is it compulsory to choose a solicitor on the conveyancing panel for HSBC ?
There is nothing to stop you using your solicitor, but HSBC will insist on their interests being represented by a firm on their conveyancing panel. There is greater potential for delays and confusion with two solicitors involved, and it will undoubtedly be more expensive too.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up during conveyancing in Maryland?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Maryland. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £235,500 and identified one round the corner in Maryland I like with amenity areas and station nearby, however it only has 51 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Maryland in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
Should you need a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you can ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.