The mortgage agreement from Nationwide for the refinancing of my 2 bedroom garden flat is coming imminently. Are you able to put forward a cheap conveyancing lawyer in St Albans?
This site is not designed to assist those in their quest for a cheap conveyancing in St Albans. Our aim is to provide excellent value conveyancing but we do not advertise as being the cheapest. Resist the temptation to appoint brokers teasing you with low cost conveyancing in St Albans. At best, in going for low cost conveyancing, you will receive what you pay for and at worst it will result in you invoiced for additional fees and still not receive the service expected.
Our god-son is buying a new build apartment in St Albans with a mortgage from Virgin Money. His solicitor has advised him of a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Virgin Money conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
My brother-in-law has suggested I instruct a conveyancing solicitor in St Albans. I need to find out if they are on the Nationwide Building Society conveyancing panel. Can you or the lender confirm if they are on the panel?
The first thing to do is e-mail your solicitor and ask them whether they are on the lender panel. Otherwise you can call Nationwide Building Society who may be able to help.
It is not clear whether my lender obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called my St Albans building society branch on numerous occasions and was advised it wasn't an issue and they would lend. My St Albans conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- called and was told they would not lend in accordance with their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. I have no idea who is right.
As long as the lawyer is on the lender approved list, they must adhere to the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook requirements for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
Having digested plenty 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 St Albans solicitor - who is on the Skipton conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Skipton will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Skipton 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. You may wish to consider appointing your own St Albans surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
After what feels like an age I have had an offer on a maisonette in St Albans accepted, but there is a chain. The sellers have offered on somewhere, however it’s not yet tied up, and have viewings of other apartments in the pipeline. I have instructed a nearby conveyancing solicitor in St Albans. What should be my next step? At what stage do I apply for the mortgage with Santander?
It is usual to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (home loan application is in the region of £1k, then valuation, St Albans conveyancing search fees, etc). The first course of action is to ensure that your conveyancing practitioner is on the Santander approved list. Concerning the subsequent stages this very much dictated by the circumstances of your case, motivation for the property and on the state of the market. During a rising market some buyers would apply for the mortgage with Santander and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they ask their lawyer to proceed with the conveyancing in St Albans.
I am downsizing from our property in St Albans and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was constructed on contaminated land. A high street St Albans lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers instructed a web based conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in St Albans. We have lived in St Albans for six years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to get in touch with our local Authority to obtain confirmation need.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm already. What do they say? You need to check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same sickness)