My mortgage broker requires my Preston law firm’s panel reference for the HSBC conveyancing panel. How do I obtain this. I have tried my local Preston office but they have not responded to me.
You are best placed to get this information from your Preston lawyer . They retain a central record lender panel numbers.
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my solicitor is suspended from the Clydesdale Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Preston?
The first thing to point out is that, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.
It has been three months following my purchase conveyancing in Preston completed. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £170,000. 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 asset 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.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and identified one close by in Preston I like with amenity areas and station nearby, the downside is that it only has 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Preston in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?
Should you require a home loan that many years will be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for at least 2 years 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 current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.
I have been recommended by numerous estate agents in Preston to select a property lawyer using your seach tool. What’s the financial inducement for Estate Agents to offer your lawyers over alternative conveyancing organisations?
We refuse to make any commission for sending work in our direction. We thought it would be too underhand a fee because home movers will think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.