My home in Stoke Poges is up for sale and I have a purchaser. Will my lawyer need to be on the Co-operative conveyancing panel in order to deal with repayment of my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Co-operative conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their specifications fairly frequently at the moment.
My partner and I have arranged the release of further monies on our mortgage from Lloyds as we want to carry out improvements to our home in Stoke Poges. Are we obliged to choose a high street Stoke Poges solicitor on the Lloyds conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
Lloyds would not normally require a member of their approved list of lawyers to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Lloyds list.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Stoke Poges. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Santander have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As your lender is Santander your lawyer must follow the formal requirements outlined in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Santander. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook stipulates minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancers are required to report to Santander where a lease does not comply with these requirements. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not limited to Stoke Poges.
I can not fathom if my bank obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called into my local Stoke Poges bank branch on a couple of occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they would lend. My Stoke Poges conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- called to say that they refuse to lend based on their specific requirements. Who do I believe?
As long as the property lawyer is on the bank approved list, they must adhere to the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook specifications 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 lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
I am selling our house in Stoke Poges and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was constructed on contaminated land. A high street Stoke Poges conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the buyers instructed a nationwide conveyancing outfit rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Stoke Poges. Having lived in Stoke Poges for six years we know that this is a non issue. Is it a good idea to get in touch with our local Authority to obtain confirmation that the buyers are looking for.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor 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 illness)
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in two weeks back in what was supposed to be a simple, no chain conveyancing. Stoke Poges is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Stoke Poges are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Stoke Poges you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Stoke Poges may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.
Are there any apps to assist me to identify a Stoke Poges solicitor on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel? I drive a motor bike and am willing to travel upto 20miles to meet the solicitor.
You can use the tool on this website. Please select a lender and your location and you will see a number of Stoke Poges conveyancing lawyers locally. We have detailed some Stoke Poges conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can telephone them to verify whether they are on the Bank of Ireland panel