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approved by Habito
Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the Habito list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
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How does my firm apply to be on the Habito Conveyancing Panel? How can my firm be reinstated onto the Habito Conveyancing Panel?Find an Approved Solicitor on the Habito Conveyancing Panel
Habito Solicitor Panel Recently Asked Questions
It has come to my attention via my estate agent that my the law firm I have appointed is not on the Habito Conveyancing panel. How can I be certain that this is indeed the case?
The first thing you need to do is to contact your conveyancer. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to advise you what has happened. If they are not on the panel they may recommend you to a firm that is on the conveyancing panel for Habito.
My fiance and I are refinancing our penthouse with Habito. We have a son 19 who lives with us. The solicitor on the Habito conveyancing panel requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the Habito conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Habito conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Habito .This is solely used to protect the Habito if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave.
It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Habito had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
I am buying a property and require a conveyancing solicitor in Liverpool who is on the Habito approved. Can you recommend a local solicitor?
Our service is a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Habito . We don’t recommend any particular firm.
The lawyers that I appointed last week on my purchase in London has suddenly closed. They were on acting for me because I needed a firm on the Habito conveyancing panel and my previous lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take £175 for searches. What should be my next steps?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Habito conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers may be able to assist
Are all solicitors on the Habito conveyancing panel regulated by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Habito conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Many lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).
For 5 years I had a mortgage with Habito. My uncle has just retired and wants to pay off my mortgage. After Habito is paid, I want to transfer the property to my mother's name; How long does the process take? Do we need two separate solicitors on the Habito conveyancing panel? I do not intend to live at the property once the Habito mortgage is discharged.
You
will need a solicitor but they need not be on the Habito conveyancing panel.
You will need a solicitor to draw up the transfer and
to deal with the Land Registry formalities. The only thing you need to
consider is that by selling at an undervalue so ask your lawyer about
the implications. There could be an inheritance tax issue if you die
within 7 years of this. As the property is your main residence you need
not pay CGT but you should speak with your accountants in any event.
I can not work out if my mortgage offer obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date . I have called into my local branch Habito on various occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they would lend. My solicitor - who is on the Habito conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told not they would not lend in accordance with their CML Handbook minimum lease term requirements. Who do I believe?
Your lawyer has to follow the CML Handbook Part 2 requirements for Habito. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that Habito 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 Habito to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the remaining number of years left on the lease.
Other Topics
Transfer of Equity for HabitoPlease note that Lexsure Ltd is in no way associated with nor affiliated with Lexsure Solicitors