We are buying a brand new apartment in Plymouth and my lawyer is telling me that she is duty bound to the mortgage company to disclose incentives from the builder. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to exchange contracts and my preference is not to delay deal. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancing practitioner. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unexperienced as a 1st time buyer of a ground floor flat in Plymouth. Do I receive the keys to the premises on completion from my lawyer? If so, I will appoint a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Plymouth?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will transfer the completion advance to the seller's lawyers, and once they have received this, you will be invited to receive the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this happens early afternoon.
I am the sole recipient of my late grandmother’s estate with all property in now in my sole name, including the my former home in Plymouth. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in March. I plan to dispose of the house. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship will be considered the same way as though I had purchased the property in March. Will no one buy the property for half a year?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook mandates conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you may be caught by that. many banks would take a sensible view as this clause is principally there to identify the purchase and immediately sell or the quick reselling of property.
The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Plymouth. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I would like to complain about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR who will take matters further.
How does conveyancing in Plymouth differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Plymouth come to us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is finished. This is because house builders in Plymouth typically acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Plymouth or who has acted in the same development.
Am I better off to instruct a Plymouth conveyancing practitioner who is local to the property I am hoping to buy? An old friend can conduct the legal work however his firm is located a couple of hundredmiles away.
The primary upside of using a high street Plymouth conveyancing practice is that you can drop in to execute documents, hand in your ID and pester them if necessary. They will also have local intelligence which is a benefit. However it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If if people you trust instructed your friend and the majority were impressed that should surpass using an unknown Plymouth conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being round the corner.
My husband and I are hoping to buy a three bedroom first floor flatin Plymouth with a residential mortgage from a lender. We would like to retain our lawyer in Plymouth but our lender inform us now that he's not listed on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to instruct one of the our mortgage company panel firms or keep our Plymouth conveyancer and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The lender home loan issued is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that solicitors will on the lender's conveyancing panel. Until recently, most banks had large numbers of law firms on their panels, including many conveyancing solicitors in Plymouth : 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 lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your mortgage company.