I am nearing exchange of contracts for my ground floor flat in Howden and the estate agent has just telephoned to say that the purchasers are changing their solicitor. The reason given is that the lender will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major lender only deal with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Howden ?
Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for many years.
Banks blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
Do I need to attend the offices of the solicitor to sign the legal charge? If so, I will choose one who does conveyancing in Howden so that I can pop in to their offices if required.
As opposed to 12 years ago, the vast majority lenders no longer require their conveyancing panel lawyer to witness the mortgagors signature. It will still be necessary for you to supply identification documents and there are still manifest benefits to choosing a local practitioner, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Howden.
I have been told that property searches are the number one reason for delay in Howden house deals. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released conclusions of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the common causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Searches are not likely to feature in any holding up conveyancing in Howden.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and found one near me in Howden I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 49 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Howden for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.
I have just appointed agents to market my garden apartment in Howden.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed however I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?
Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the invoice as you normally would because all ground rent and maintenance payments will be apportionedon completion, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process