My lawyer has discovered a defect with the lease for the flat we are buying in Gower. The seller’s lawyers have put forward title insurance as a solution. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our solicitor has advised that he must be satisfied that the bank is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the bank?
Notwithstanding that you have a mortgage offer from the bank does not mean to say that the property will meet their conditions for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. You and the lender are the client. The appropriate lender requirements must be adhered to.
We are buying a property and require a conveyancing solicitor in Gower who is on the Bank of Ireland solicitor panel. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a firm?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Bank of Ireland . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in Gower.
This question may be naive but I am unexperienced as a 1st time buyer of a garden flat in Gower. Do I pick up the keys to the premises on completion from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will use a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Gower?
On the day of completion you do not need to go to the conveyancers office in Gower. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the completion advance to the seller's conveyancers, and once they have received this, you will be able to collect the keys from the property Agents and move into your new home. This tends to happen early afternoon.
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 into my local Gower bank branch on a couple of occasions and was told it wasn't an issue and they will lend. My Gower conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they would not lend based on their specific requirements. I simply don't know who is right.
Provided that the lawyer is on the bank panel, she or he must follow the CML Handbook conditions 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 left on the lease.
I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in Gower. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their property lawyer. I paid an upfront payment of £200. Soon after, the lawyer called me to say that they were not on the Barclays conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Barclays panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
What will a local search inform me about the property my wife and I purchasing in Gower?
Gower conveyancing often commences with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search organisations such as Searches UK The local search is essential in every Gower conveyancing purchase; as long as you wish to avoid any nasty once you have moved into your new home. The search will provide data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen topic areas.
I have been recommended a conveyancing solicitor in Gower. I I would like to check if they are listed on the lender's approved list of lawyers. Can you help?
One option is to call the lawyer and ask them if they are on the bank's approved list. If that does not help call us and we can investigate and revert. Should the firm not be on the bank panel we can certainly arrange a specialist conveyancing solicitor in Gower on the panel for your mortgage company.