My partner and I are purchasing a brand new duplex in Arkley and my conveyancer is telling me that she has to the lender to disclose incentives from the developer. I am on a tight deadline to exchange and I have no desire to prolong deal. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property lawyer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
It is a dozen years since I acquired my property in Arkley. Conveyancing lawyers have now been retained on the sale but I can't find my title documents. Will this jeopardise the sale?
You need not be too concerned. First the deeds may be retained by the lender or they could be archived with the solicitor who acted in the purchase. Secondly the chances are that the property will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers procuring current official copies of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Arkley relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your property is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.
Do I have to pop into the offices of the solicitor to execute the mortgage deed? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Arkley so that I can attend their offices if necessary.
As opposed to 12 years ago, the vast majority mortgage companies no longer need their conveyancing panel lawyer to witness the mortgagors signature. It will still be necessary for you to hand over ID documents and there are still manifest advantages to choosing a local ayer, in your situation a conveyancing solicitor in Arkley.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Coventry BS, do Arkley conveyancers have to pay an annual charge to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are not aware of any mortgage company fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
I currently have a mortgage with UBS for my property in Arkley. Conveyancing was finalised some time ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform UBS?
You must advise UBS before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of UBS’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 UBS directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a UBS conveyancing panel lawyer.
I am selling my house. I had a double glazing fitted in February 2010, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, Santander are being pedantic. The Arkley solicitor who is on the Santander conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Santander are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Santander have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Santander have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Santander may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
I have a renovated Georgian property in Arkley. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and National Westminster Bank. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the matching property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Arkley and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also question the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who carried out the work.