I am not in a position to travel far from South Hylton. What is the rationale as to why all South Hylton property lawyers are not on all lender panels?
Lenders tend to impose restrictions on either the nature or volume of conveyancing firms on their approved list of lawyers. A common example of such criteria being that the practice needs to have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the nature of firm, some lenders decided to limit the number of organisations they use to represent them. It is worth noting that building societies have no accountability for the accuracy of service supplied by any South Hylton lawyer on their approved list. Increases in mortgage fraud was the primary trigger for the reduction of conveyancing panels a few years ago notwithstanding that there are opposing thoughts about whether solicitors sat at the center of that fraud. Statistics from HM Land Registry indicates that thousands of conveyancing practices only conduct one or two conveyances annually. Those advocating conveyancing panel consolidation question why law firms should have the right to be on a bank panel when clearly conveyancing is not their speciality?
Why do I have to pay up front when it comes to conveyancing in South Hylton?
Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in South Hylton your lawyer will request that you place them with monies to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. Ordinarily this is requested to cover the fees of the Local Authority Search. If any deposit is as part of the sale price then this should be asked for immediately in advance of exchange of contracts. The final balance that is due should be sent to your lawyer a couple of days ahead of the completion date.
I have a mortgage with Clydesdale for my property in South Hylton. Conveyancing was finalised some time ago. In the event that I decide to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Clydesdale?
You must advise Clydesdale before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Clydesdale’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Clydesdale directly. You need not do this via a Clydesdale conveyancing panel solicitor.
The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in South Hylton. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I would like to complain about the lender. How do I make a complaint?
Most lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Department at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are sorted out very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that 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.
My offer on a property in South Hylton has been accepted, the sellers do however have an associated purchase. The vendors have placed an offer on a flat, but it’s not yet agreed to, and are looking at other flats in the pipeline. I have chosen a high street conveyancing solicitor in South Hylton. What do I do now? At what stage should I apply for the mortgage with Nationwide?
It is understandable to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (mortgage application is approx one thousand pounds, then valuation, South Hylton conveyancing search costs, etc). First, you should check that your property lawyer is on the Nationwide approved list. As to the next steps this very much dictated by the circumstances of your case, motivation for the property and on the state of the market. In a rising market some buyers would apply for a home loan with Nationwide and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they ask their solicitor to press on with searches.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £305k and identified one close by in South Hylton I like with amenity areas and station nearby, the downside is that it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in South Hylton for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this.
I am looking for a conveyancing solicitor in South Hylton for my home move. Is it possible to review a solicitor's record with the legal regulator?
One can read published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations resulting from inquisitions from 2008 onwards. Go to Check a solicitor's record. For details about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a solicitors history, call 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For callers outside the UK, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA sometimes monitor call for training reasons.